Who Says Spying Doesn't Teach You Anything?
by KatieMalfoy19
Summary: Troy and Gabriella learn that they may not know a certain pair of twins as well as they thought when they accidentally end up spying on them.  I suck at writing summaries guys, just check it out! NOT TWINCEST!
1. Forgotten Math Book

**AN: **Hey guys! This is my first attempt at an actual story. Hope this one works better than my poem attempt! Please R&R and let me know what you think! I'm really nervous about this!

Pairings: Troyella, Chaylor, Zekepay, and Ryelsi

**Disclaimer:** Come on, are these things actually necessary??? If I owned HSM or HSM2 then why in the heck would I be writing fan fiction??? It would be the script! Nope, don't own anything. If you sue me, all you'll get are my HSM and HSM2 soundtracks.

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**Who Says Spying Doesn't Teach You Anything????**

"Hey guys, sorry. I'll have to catch up. I left my math book in the theater." Gabriella Montez told her friends. They (which included Kelsi Nielson, Chad Danforth, Taylor Mckessie, Zeke Baylor, and of course, Gabriella's boyfriend Troy Bolton) were all heading to the movies together.

"Come on Gabs, you're a whiz at math!" Troy exclaimed. "It won't hurt for you to not have your book for one night."

"Troy Bolton, the reason I'm good at math is because I do my homework every night, unlike some people." Gabriella said while eyeing Troy and Chad.

"Hey! I do homework!" Chad defended.

"Calling me to complain about it and proceeding to beg me to give you the answers doesn't count Chad." Taylor responded smirking.

"Oh...Never mind then." Chad replied.

"Hey Gabs, while you're in there, see if Ryan is still there. If he is, why don't you invite him to come with us again?" suggested Taylor while grinning at Kelsi.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Kelsi, who then caught herself and blushed a deep pink.

"It's ok Kels." Zeke said chuckling. "We all know you like him. But you guys know he isn't just going to ditch Sharpay to hang out with us."

"Why not?" questioned Chad. "He can't like being around the Ice Queen any more than us. And we don't have to live with her!"

"She's still his sister Chad." Gabriella said.

"Not just his sister, his twin." Kelsi added sighing.

The gang had grown close with Ryan since the summer at Lava Springs. However, he was very adamant about not leaving Sharpay out again. If she wasn't invited, Ryan wouldn't come either. Sometimes if Sharpay was invited but just simply chose not to come, Ryan could join the group. But most of the time he just chose to go home with his sister.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to ask him and make sure he hasn't changed his mind." Troy said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gabriella replied.

"Who knows, maybe he is sick of her now. I know I would be!" Chad exclaimed.

"Alright, well I guess we'll meet you guys at the theater." Troy said.

"Go ahead and get our tickets, ok?" Gabriella said handing Kelsi the money. "I've been wanting to see Hair Spray for forever! I don't want it to sell out!"

"You just want to see it cause it has Zac Efron in it." Taylor replied with a grin.

"I can't help it!" Gabriella exclaimed. "He is soooooooo cute!"

"He's not that cute. I don't see what the big deal is with that guy." Troy grumbled.

"Whatever." Gabriella said laughing.

"We'll save you two seats. Call and let us know if Ryan is coming and we'll get him a ticket too." Kelsi said hopefully.

"Don't worry Kels. We'll call." Troy replied smiling.

"See ya in a few!" Chad yelled as he, Taylor, Zeke, and Kelsi walked toward the school doors.

"See ya!" Troy and Gabriella called together as they headed off towards the theater.

"Oh no." Gabriella said looking upset as they reached the doors to the theater.

"What?" Troy asked.

"Well, I was just thinking, the Winter Musical has its auditions coming up. What if Ryan and Sharpay are practicing their routine?" Gabriella asked looking nervous.

"Umm, not seeing the problem here." Troy said looking confused.

"Don't you see? They might think we're spying on them. Well, Sharpay might anyways." Gabriella said looking worried.

"That makes no sense." Troy said. "We aren't even trying out for it. Neither of us have time this year!"

"Yeah, but they don't know that." Gabriella replied.

"Well then lets just make sure, if they are practicing that they don't see us." Troy said with a grin. "Besides, if they are rehearsing, Ryan won't come with us anyways."

"Yeah, you're right." Gabriella sighed.

"I know." Troy said with a smile.

"Shut up." Gabriella said giggling. "Let's just get my book."

Troy and Gabriella entered the theater and looked around.

"Wow, its dark in here!" exclaimed Gabriella. All the lights were out in the theater except for a couple of smaller lights that lit up the stage.

"Will you be able to find your book?" Troy asked.

"I should be able to, I left it over there." Gabriella said while pointing to the back corner of the theater.

As they walked towards the area where Gabriella's math book was, they heard a voice scream "Ryan! Stop it!" laughter evident in the speaker's voice.

"Then give me my hat back!" Ryan Evans yelled back, amusement heavy in his voice.

"Never!" Sharpay Evans yelled at her twin.

"What in the world???" Troy whispered to Gabriella.

"Shhhh!!!!!" Gabriella whispered.

While they couldn't be seen from the stage due to lack of light, they would be able to be heard if they were not careful. Troy looked at Gabriella for a second before his attention was diverted to a giggling Sharpay who ran onto the stage with a grinning Ryan a few steps behind her.

They had changed from their normal school attire into black track pants with a light blue t-shirt for Ryan, and charcoal gray track pants with a pink tank top for Sharpay, Ryan's lime green fedora he had worn to school that day in her hand.

"Just give me my hat and make this easier on yourself." Ryan said an evil glint in his eye as he advanced on his twin.

"I thought you knew me well enough to know that I **NEVER** give up." Sharpay replied grinning as she continued to back up.

"Well don't say I didn't warn you little sis!" Ryan laughed and then charged at Sharpay. She had just enough time to turn around before Ryan grabbed her. She was still able to hold the hat just out of his reach.

"Ok." Ryan smirked. "You asked for it!" In one quick move he scooped Sharpay up bridal style into his arms.

"Ryan Christopher Evans put me down!" Sharpay shrieked.

"Then Sharpay Elizabeth Evans give me my hat back!" Ryan laughed as he held tight to his squirming sister.

"Fine! Here!" Sharpay squealed as she placed Ryan's hat back on his head. "Now put me down Ry!"

Troy and Gabriella found themselves somewhere between being completely stunned at seeing the siblings acting this way and cracking up laughing at how silly they were being and even slight confusion at realizing that maybe they didn't know the Evans twins as well as they thought. "Have you ever seen them like this?" Gabriella asked Troy softly.

"Never like this." Troy whispered. "They use to goof around together but that was when we were in middle school before Sharpay and I...well, when we all still hung out together." Troy finished and turned his attention back to the stage. Gabriella looked at him curiously for a second before she too returned her attention back to the still laughing Evans twins.

"Fine, so you want me to put you down huh?" Ryan asked a slight smirk pulling at his lips.

"Ummm, yes." Sharpay answered looking a little worried

"Ok, whatever you say sis." Ryan replied. He squatted down, set Sharpay on the stage and just stayed there for a second staring at her. Just as Sharpay started to scoot away from her brother an evil grin sprang up on his face and he leapt on top of her.

Sharpay just shrieked as Ryan pushed her down so her back was on the stage floor. He then sat on her straddling her waist. "Ryyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaannnn!" Sharpay squealed as she pounded her brother with her fists to try and get him off of her.

"Shhhaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!" Ryan mimicked as he grabbed his twins tiny wrists in one hand and pinned them over her head.

"Didn't I tell you that I'd make you pay for stealing my hat?" Ryan questioned as he grinned down at Sharpay.

"Come on Ry!" Sharpay begged. "Please let me up!"

"Hmmm, ok." Ryan agreed. Sharpay's face showed immense relief but that quickly changed as Ryan added "Just not yet."

Ryan then began to tickle his twin everywhere he knew she was ticklish. "Ry!" Sharpay screamed laughing. "Stop it!"

"Who is the best and cutest big brother in the entire world?" Ryan asked his squirming sister, who was doing her best to get away from him, which was impossible as he had her pinned.

"Matt Camden." Sharpay answered a bit of defiance present in her face and voice.

"Matt Camden?" Troy whispered looking confused.

"7th Heaven, gosh Troy! Don't you watch TV? Now hush! I'm trying to hear!" Gabriella admonished him.

"Fine." Troy pouted.

"Excuse me? I don't think I heard you!" Ryan said as he began to tickle Sharpay even more.

"You! You! I meant you!" Sharpay managed to get out around her laughter.

"Say it!" Ryan told her grinning big.

"Ryan Evans is the cutest and best big brother in the entire world!" Sharpay answered as quickly as she could while laughing.

"Thank you very much." Ryan smirked as he climbed off of Sharpay and helped her sit up.

"Jerk." Sharpay mumbled a small smile pulling at her lips.

"Good thing they've always done theater and project their voices without thinking about it." Gabriella said in a quiet voice. "Otherwise we wouldn't be able to hear them."

"Hush! I'm trying to hear!" Troy mimicked Gabriella from earlier.

"Boys." Gabriella mumbled as she rolled her eyes and looked back toward the twins who were sitting on the edge of the stage, both grinning and catching their breath.

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**AN: **Hey! So I hope you guys like it so far. I have more but I want to see if I should just toss it all or if I should continue! R&R and let me know! Please!!! 


	2. Made of Ice?

**AN: **Here is the next chapter! It's a little more angsty than the first. Hope you guys like it!

**  
Disclaimer:** Come on, are these things actually necessary??? If I owned HSM or HSM2 then why in the heck would I be writing fan fiction??? It would be the script! Nope, don't own anything. If you sue me, all you'll get are my HSM and HSM2 soundtracks.

* * *

"Now see,"Ryan started as he nudged his sister with his shoulder." if I had gone with Gabriella, Troy and the rest of them we wouldn't be having all this fun." Ryan finished grinning at Sharpay. 

"Yeah,"Sharpay said, smile faltering slightly. "but you still should have gone Ry. You would of had fun." Sharpay said looking away.

"Hey,"Ryan said, face softening. He reached out one hand to take Sharpay's chin and turn her back towards him so she was looking at him again. "I am having fun."

"Ry, come on. Hanging out with your sister is so not the same thing as hanging out with friends. Besides, Kelsi was going!" Sharpay said grinning at the slight blush that appeared on her brother's face at the mention of the cute pianist. "Hanging out with them beats hanging out with the East High Ice Queen any day." Sharpay finished a sad smile onher face.

Ryan's head snapped towards her, his face looking angry. "Don't you ever call yourself that again Shar! It's not true and I hate it when people call you that."

"Ry, you have to understand why they call me that." Sharpay said in a voice so soft that Troy and Gabriella had to strain to hear it.

"No, what I understand is that the ones who call you that are jerks who judge you without taking the time to get to know you." Ryan responded as he stared straight ahead obviously angered.

"Ryan..." Sharpay began

"You want to know the real reason why I don't care to hang out with Troy and them very often?" Ryan asked as he cut her off and looked at her. Sharpay's face still held her sad smile as she nodded slightly.

"I like hanging out with some of them. Gabriella is really nice and so is Taylor. Of course Kelsi is great." Ryan said and blushed as he hurried on ignoring Sharpay's slight smirk. "Zeke is cool too." Ryan said with a grin looking at his sister pointedly as she just blushed. "Troy I'm getting use to again. I mean we'll never be best friends because I'll never totally get over how he went from telling you he loved you to calling you the Ice Queen all in the span of like two days."

"Three days." Troy said, a guilty look on his face at the same time Sharpay corrected Ryan out loud.

Gabriella just looked at Troy surprise evident on her face. Seeing her face, Troy rushed on "We went out a few years ago. From like half way through 8th grade until the beginning of 9th grade." He explained.

"You do know he wasn't the one who started the Ice Queen thing right?" Sharpay questioned Ryan.

"Oh yeah, I know." Ryan said, obviously upset. "Which brings me to the main reason I tend to avoid hanging out with them. Chad."

Gabriella was staring at Troy who was staring at the ground.

"Because he started the Ice Queen thing right?" Sharpay asked.

"There is that, and that's a major part of it. But he is also the reason we quit hanging out with that group, the reason you and Troy broke up, the reason you don't feel like you can let anyone get close to you, and if that wasn't enough, he's the reason you became what he calls the Ice Queen." Ryan answered ticking off each reason on his fingers.

"Troy and I broke up because Troy was acting like a jerk, not because of Chad." Sharpay countered. It was obvious she too was becoming agitated and it seemed, at least to Gabriella, that she was thinking about something that was making her even more angry and upset, though those emotions didn't seem to be directed at Ryan.

"Do you honestly think Troy would of said the things he did or acted the way he did if it hadn't been for Chad?" Ryan asked.

"It doesn't matter. Troy made the decision to talk about you the way he did Ry." Sharpay responded obviously still upset over the situation. "Chad didn't force him. Chad may have started it, which is the reason I don't like being around him myself, but Troy had a choice."

"Shar,"Ryan began scooting closer to her so their shoulders were touching. "if you still are this angry at Troy, why did you hang out with him so much this summer?"

Sharpay paused for a minute, seemingly trying to find a way to convey her thoughts or feelings. Gabriella turned to proceed to grill Troy on all she had just heard but paused when she saw him. Troy had a more intense version of the guilty self-loathing look she had seen at Lava Springs when he realized how bad he had treated everyone.

"Honestly, at first I just tried to keep him near me because I knew he would hate it." Sharpay began, a sheepish smile tugging at her lips. "And he was the only person I could think of that it would be even conceivable that I would ditch you for,even though I would never really ditch you for anyone." Sharpay was rambling now like she always did when she was upset.

"I know that now Shar." Ryan said as he slipped his arm around his sister's shoulders. "I should of realized what you were doing then, but I was too angry and hurt to see it. I mean, you've tried to get me to make other friends before, so I should of seen it when you pushed me towards the Wild Cats."

"Well, if I had stuck to my original plan, you might of never figured it out." Sharpay said softly.

"What was that?" Ryan questioned eyeing her.

"Well, originally I wouldn't of pushed Troy so hard and he would of stayed around long enough for you to kind of take his place with Gabriella and Chad." Sharpay explained.

Gabriella's eyes grew wide as did Troy's as they continued to stare at the twins.

"Wait a second." Ryan said quirking an eyebrow, a confused smile starting to form. "You mean actually take his place? Like dating Gabriella and being Chad's best friend?"

Sharpay nodded, a smile beginning to take place on her face as well.

"Gabriella and me dating?" Ryan questioned.

"Yes." Sharpay answered.

"Umm, no offense sis, but you are never setting me up." Ryan laughed.

"I thought you liked her." Sharpay said looking slightly confused.

"I do, as a friend." Ryan answered. "I mean she is pretty and really nice, but not really my type."

"You mean she isn't drama-ish enough for you." Sharpay responded, a smirk beginning to form.

"Yeah, I guess." Ryan agreed.

"You go for the type who, I don't know, play the piano, sing, and write music." Sharpay grinned leaning into Ryan.

"Yeah,"Ryan smiled. "I guess I do."

"And Chad and me as best friends?" Ryan asked with disbelief.

"Yeah, probably not the best part of the plan." Sharpay admitted. "But you two seemed to be getting along!"

"We might if every other sentence out of his mouth wasn't downing you." Ryan told her honestly.

"I think he's changed. He doesn't seem to be the same guy who made fun of you years ago." Sharpay continued, seemingly ignoring Ryan's reply.

"Now see, I disagree. I have no problem at all seeing him as the same guy from years ago. Just instead of focusing on me, he is focusing on you,which feels like he is attacking me anyways." Ryan admitted.

"I know it bothers you when he talks about me. I wish it didn't but I know it probably always will. See, I can deal with Chad and other people talking about me, because I deserve it." Sharpay explained.

Troy and Gabriella watched as Ryan shook his head and even seemed to clench his jaw, but he let his sister continue.

"But Ry, you are the sweetest guy ever. None of them have any right to talk about you. They can talk about me as much as they want or call me the Ice Queen or whatever, as long as they leave you out of it." Sharpay finished, her voice shaking.

"Shar, don't you get it?" Ryan questioned tightening his grip around her shoulders. "I feel the same way about you. I can handle them talking about me. I'm not gonna say it doesn't hurt or bother me, but I can deal with it. But anytime I hear Troy or Chad or whoever talking about you, all I can think about is how great it would be to punch them out." Ryan angrily explained.

"Ryan, they have every right to. I **AM** the Ice Queen after all." Sharpay tried to calm her brother, sad smile back in place on her face.

"I know they think that, but I know that's not who you are." Ryan said, seeming to get more upset at hearing his sister refer to herself as the Ice Queen. Troy and Gabriella saw Ryan hurry to continue on as Sharpay shook her head ready to refute what Ryan was saying.

"Shar, we use to be friends with Chad and Troy. You dated Troy. They knew you then and should know enough to see that this Ice Queen facade isn't who you really are. But even if they've forgotten, I know you better than anyone." Ryan continued, softening his voice as he watched a tear slide down his little sister's face.

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**AN:** Hope you guys liked this chapter! Please R&R to let me know! Don't worry though. I'm not gonna try and make Chad and Troy all evil in this story. 


	3. Big Brothers Know Their Little Sisters

**AN: **Hey yall! I hope you guys are liking this story! Please let me know what you think of this chapter!

**Disclaimer:** Come on, are these things actually necessary??? If I owned HSM or HSM2 then why in the heck would I be writing fan fiction??? It would be the script! Nope, don't own anything. If you sue me, all you'll get are my HSM and HSM2 soundtracks.

* * *

_Previously_

_"Ryan, they have every right to. I **AM** the Ice Queen after all." Sharpay tried to calm her brother, sad smile back in place on her face._

_"I know they think that, but I know that's not who you are." Ryan said, seeming to get more upset at hearing his sister refer to herself as the Ice Queen. Troy and Gabriella saw Ryan hurry to continue on as Sharpay shook her head ready to refute what Ryan was saying._

_"Shar, we use to be friends with Chad and Troy. You dated Troy. They knew you then and should know enough to see that this Ice Queen facade isn't who you really are. But even if they've forgotten, I know you better than anyone." Ryan continued, softening his voice as he watched a tear slide down his little sister's face._

And Now, on with the story!

**Big Brothers Know Their Little Sisters**

"I'm the one who held you while you cried after you broke up with Troy. I'm also the one who you slept with for a month after Chad and Troy started calling you the Ice Queen because of all the nightmares you were having about it. I'm also the one who sees how hurt you are every time someone, especially Troy or Chad, call you that name or talk about you." Ryan finished smiling at the look of surprise on Sharpay's face as her head snapped up.

"You can tell?" Sharpay asked shocked. She thought she covered it quite well.

"Shar, you're an awesome actress, but your eyes give you away every time. I can always tell how you feel by your eyes." Ryan told her, small smile on his face.

"That's how you always know when I'm sick or upset isn't it?" Sharpay asked her brother, understanding finally dawning on her and she grinned when she saw her brother nod.

Gabriella glanced at Troy and caught another glimpse of that guilty self-loathing look of his before he buried his head in his arms. She felt bad for him, but at the same time, she was angry at how he had treated Ryan and Sharpay in the past. She vowed she would give him a chance to tell his side of the story and explain himself before she tore into him. The thought that Troy and Chad could possibly be responsible for Sharpay's icy exterior made Gabriella angry, sad, and even sick to her stomach.

"Maybe we could reach a compromise on the Wild Cats thing." Ryan began, wheels obviously turning in his head.

"I'm listening." Sharpay answered, giving her brother a curious look.

"Maybe we can ask Kelsi AND Zeke to come over to hang out." Ryan told her. "That way, you can get use to opening up to them slowly."

"That might just be ok." Sharpay said with a grin. "But only them!"

"Only them." Ryan agreed.

"I really do think Troy and Chad have changed though Ry. They both seem nicer then they were back then." Sharpay quietly added.

"Maybe you're right." Ryan agreed. "But only time will tell. I'm not gonna hang out with people who take fun in downing you though." Ryan said. "Deal?"

"Deal." Sharpay agreed. "But only if this works both ways. I don't want to hang out with people who think making fun of you is a great past time either. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Ryan confirmed as he nodded.

"Love you Ry." Sharpay said as she leaned in and hugged him.

"Love you too Shar." He replied kissing her on the head as he hugged her back.

"Ok, now that we've got all the emotional drama out of the way, ready to rehearse?" Ryan asked his twin.

"Honestly, I don't feel like it right now. Can we do it tomorrow?" Sharpay pleaded.

"Sure little sis. Tomorrow is fine." Ryan said grinning down at Sharpay.

"I'm only younger by two and a half minutes." Sharpay responded, wide grin on her face.

"Still makes me the older brother. I can only think of one time where you playing to protective one has worked out good." Ryan explained a smirk forming. "And it really didn't, I just find your reaction hilarious."

"You mean when I heard Troy and Chad talking about you and dumped Troy, then slapped him. Then turned around and punched Chad." Sharpay said knowingly, grinning at Ryan.

"Yep, I mean, it ended up hurting you to break up with Troy, but seeing Troy walking around with a hand shaped bruise on his face, and Chad with his swollen black eye that didn't leave for weeks was awesome." Ryan laughed.

"I was angry! You know how I get when I'm angry!" Sharpay defended, despite her laughing.

"And the fact that it was right before year book pictures made it even better!" Ryan said laughing hard. "Whenever I need a good laugh, I can just pull out our 9th grade year book."

"I do that too." Sharpay told Ryan giggling.

Gabriella tried to cover her grin but stopped when she looked at Troy and saw he was also smiling. When he saw Gabriella looking at him, he mouthed "I'll explain everything later." Gabriella just nodded and returned her attention to the laughing Evans twins.

"Hey Ry?" Sharpay said, the look in her eyes telling him she wanted something.

"Yes Shar?" Ryan asked slowly.

"I don't want to rehearse, but can we do our song?" Sharpay asked putting on her best puppy dog face that her brother could never refuse.

"Sure, if you want." Ryan complied, laughing at his sister's face.

"I want!" Sharpay immediately responded.

"Did you bring the CD?" Ryan asked.

"Yep, it's in the CD player." Sharpay responded, pointing to the CD player that was sitting on the piano. Ryan stood up pulling his twin up with him. He pulled the CD player's remote out of his pocket and pointed it hitting play.

Gabriella and Troy had to shake their heads and laugh a little as the familiar tunes began to play.

_"It's hard to believe that I couldn't see" _Ryan sang as he hugged Sharpay to him

_"That you were always there beside me. Thought I was alone, with no one to hold. But you were always right beside me." _They sang together as Sharpay slipped her arm around her brother's waist.

It was weird for Troy and Gabriella to watch the twins like this. Last time they had heard them sing and perform this song, it had been at the first _Twinkle Town_ audition, where everything had been over the top theatrics, including their singing. Now, the moves they were doing were simple and they were simply singing like a brother and sister singing to each other.

_"This feelings like no other."_ Sharpay sang looking in her brother's eyes.

_"I want you to know,"_ They sang together.

_"That I've never had someone who knows me like you do, the way you do_!" Ryan spun Sharpay away and began advancing on her as she walked backwards away.

_"And I've never had someone as good for me as you, no one like you!"_ Sharpay advanced on her brother as he did the same as she pointed her finger at him. She then pushed his shoulder to turn him around while she jumped on his back and covered his eyes.

_"So lonely before, I finally found….what I've been looking for."_ They sang as Sharpay removed her hand from his eyes and tapped his shoulder until he looked up at her and she waved at him, both with huge grins on their faces.

"You know," Troy told Gabriella. "If they had sung and performed that song like that, we never would have had a chance at the leads."

"Yeah, I know! It's so open and honest. You can really feel the emotion too." Gabriella replied. They continued to watch Ryan and Sharpay as they finished the song, which ended the same way the _Twinkle Town_ performance did, except they were looking at each other instead of the audience. When the music ended, the twins broke apart laughing, Ryan keeping his arm around his sister.

"So, mom and dad are gone again for another business trip, and the staff has the night off, so what do you say to a pizza and movie night?" Ryan asked Sharpay grinning.

"Yay!" Sharpay squealed as she hugged her brother tight.

"What movies do you want to watch?" Ryan questioned as he picked up his hat that had fallen off during the tickling attack earlier.

"Hmmm…….I know I want to see _The Sound of Music_ and _The__ Wizard of Oz_." Sharpay answered.

"Well, to be fair, let's watch _Wicked_ too." Ryan said.

"Sounds good! Let's get going so we can start watching the movies!" Sharpay exclaimed.

"So, pepperoni pizza right?" He asked his sister was they walked back stage, slipping his arm around her again.

"Ewww. No way! Cheese pizza!" She exclaimed.

"Ok, compromise. Let's get one pepperoni and one cheese." Ryan told his Sharpay.

"Sounds great Ry." Sharpay told Ryan, leaning her head on his shoulder as they disappeared from sight.

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**AN: **Hey! Ok, you guys have read it! Now review and let me know what you think! Please! It really means a lot! Hope you liked it! Katie 


	4. A Much Needed Explanation

**AN: **Hey guys! Sorry I'm a day late getting this up. My computer is having issues, so I'm using the one at school. No Ryan and Sharpay in this one I'm sorry to say. But Troy and Gabi needed some time so Troy could explain himself . They will be back! Hope you guys like it!

**Disclaimer:** Retyping this is making me sad, so go back and look at the first chapter. I own nothing.

* * *

"Troy?" Gabriella asked slowly as Troy stared after Ryan and Sharpay.

"Yeah?" He asked her, having a feeling what she was going to ask about.

"What happened with you and Sharpay?" She questioned.

"Well, like I said before, we dated when we were like in 8th grade and a little in 9th grade. She was different then though. Not as mean and not icy at all. She and Ryan hung out with me and Chad all the time. We got along great if you discount some of the looks and warnings I got from Ryan about how I'd better not hurt Sharpay." Troy told her smiling. "He has a major protective streak when it comes to her. Everyone thinks he's just a drama geek, but as a person who has been on the receiving end of his anger, I can tell you he is not a geek at all. He has a great right hook actually."

"He hit you?" Gabriella asked surprised. She was having a hard time picturing Ryan Evans actually punching anyone, let alone Troy.

"Yeah, I kind of deserved it though. Sharpay and I had this huge fight. I got angry at her and said some things I didn't mean. I told her that she was the worst girlfriend ever and that she was selfish and mean." Troy said looking guilty. "She wasn't being any of those actually. I think the fight was because she had a dance class and couldn't come to one of my games and I just freaked out on her. I really should of known she would run to Ryan. Apparently she was roaming the halls crying when Ryan found her. I think he comforted her enough to stop her from crying and asked Kelsi to walk her home. Kelsi was friends with them at the time too. Then he came into the gym where we were warming up for the games. I didn't even see him coming. He just punched me one good time on the cheek. I felt like he had broke it! He told me that if all I was gonna do is spout lies to his sister then I needed to stay the hell away from her. Then he turned and apparently caught up to Kelsi and Sharpay cause Kelsi was at the game.

"So what did you do?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, first I had my basketball game, which was the worst I've ever played in my life. I kept thinking about the fight Sharpay and I had and couldn't concentrate. Not to mention my cheek was swelling, so I as having problems seeing out of my right eye. Dad ended up benching me in the first quarter. We lost the game and we lost bad. Chad actually told me to go fix things with Sharpay because we couldn't afford to suck that bad the rest of the season. He told me later that he didn't want to chance that Ryan might put me in the hospital if I hurt Sharpay anymore." Troy said with a smirk.

"So, did you fix things?" Gabriella asked him.

"Yeah, I went straight from the game to their house. And after about a half hour of telling Ryan why I needed to talk to Sharpay and another fifteen minutes of promising I wouldn't make her cry again and telling him I was sorry, I finally got to talk to her." Troy told her.

"Their parents let Ryan grill you for forty-five minutes before you were allowed to go in?" Gabriella asked, her surprise evident.

"They weren't home." Troy simply told her. "Once Ryan and Sharpay hit 4th or 5th grade, their parents started going on business trips all the time. The staff took care of them because their parents were only home like every other week and weekends. Once they started middle school though, in 6th grade, that got cut back to one week a month and weekends. But Ryan and Sharpay started giving the staff the time off, and by 8th grade, they had all but fired them. They only time they have a full staff is when their parents are home. The cleaning lady comes twice a week but that's it."

"No wonder Ryan is so protective of Sharpay. She's all he has." Gabriella concluded.

"Oh, don't kid yourself. He isn't the only protective one. Sharpay is pretty protective herself when it comes to Ryan." Troy replied with a grin.

"So their parents aren't home much?" Gabriella questioned looking sad.

"Yeah, it's even worse now though." He told her. "I overheard them talking after we won the leads in Twinkle Town. They said that their parents come home only like two weekends a month or," Troy said giving Gabriella a sad smile. "when they get the leads in the musicals."

"That's why they got so upset over us trying out and getting the leads!" Gabriella exclaimed looking like she wanted to cry. "That's so sad!"

"Yeah." Troy said looking down. "You still want to hear the rest?"

"If you don't mind telling me." Gabriella answered Troy softly.

"I need to tell you I think. Maybe you can help me find a way to fix it." Troy told her.

"I can try." Gabriella smiled at him.

"Well, things were going great between me and Sharpay. We had started high school and were about two months in. Ryan wasn't at school. I think he left early for a doctor's appointment or something like that. Chad and I were hanging out and we were really immature then. We had started making fun of people who were different than us or had different interests. It was kind of the beginning of all the different cliques we had when you started here. It was mean and stupid I know. But we were being stupid. We had talked about a few people including Kelsi, when Chad brought up Ryan."

"Wait, why did you make fun of Kelsi? She's so nice!" Gabriella cut him off.

"Honestly, we didn't understand her love for music or writing, so we made fun of her for it." Troy told her looking guilty.

Gabriella's eyes flashed and she looked ready to scream at him, when she suddenly just took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "Ok, tell me what happened."

"Well, it started out simple, just calling his hats stupid. But as it went on, it got worse. We made fun of his clothes and his love for drama. I even said that maybe he was suppose to be a girl, cause that would explain everything. Then Chad called him a queer. I thought I heard a noise behind me but I ignored it. Then I said something mean that I really regret saying." Troy said looking down.

"What did you say?" Gabriella asked seeming to brace herself.

"Well Chad said that maybe Ryan and Sharpay were so close because they had something going on that wasn't exactly brother/sister type stuff. I was trying to defend Sharpay, but I totally went about it the wrong way. I was way out of line." Troy went on.

"Troy! Just stop rambling and tell me what you said!" Gabriella exclaimed, her frustration getting the best of her.

"I said that maybe Ryan was taking what he wanted from Sharpay because that would explain why she wouldn't put out for me." Troy finally spit out.

"Oh my God Troy!" Gabriella said in disbelief. "You said that you thought Ryan was raping his twin sister because she wouldn't screw you???"

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" Troy exclaimed. Gabriella glared at him and he began to back track. "Not exactly anyways. Sharpay wouldn't do more than a peck on the lips and I was frustrated." Troy tried to explain. Gabriella started to go off but Troy stopped her. "Look, I'm not trying to justify what I said. It was wrong and I hate that I said it, but I can't go back and change it now." Troy said looking guilty.

Gabriella took pity on him and went on. "So did someone hear you and tell Sharpay?"

"No, worse." Troy grimaced. "She heard us. After I said what I did, Chad started laughing and I joined in. After a few minutes, Chad stopped laughing and his eyes got huge. I turned around to see what he was staring at and there stood Sharpay." Troy swallowed hard but went on. "She looked horrible. She was crying hard, tears falling really fast down her face. Her makeup was running but she didn't seem to care. I was about to ask her what was wrong until I saw her eyes were flashing. That's when it hit me that she heard what I said. She walked toward us and then slapped me so hard on the cheek that I fell down, then before Chad or I could respond, she spun around and punched Chad so hard in the eye that he fell to the ground to. Then she looked down at me and said "We're through!" and stormed off."

"Can't say that I blame her Troy." Gabriella said softly.

"I don't either." Troy answered honestly.

"So she changed after that?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah. Ryan and Sharpay were absent the next, but the day after that they were back. They were so different it was almost scary. They came into the school and it was like you could immediately feel the chill in the air. As soon as she and Ryan were through the school doors, she yelled "Evaporate!" to get everyone to part for her and Ryan." Troy told Gabriella.

"And they did it?" Gabriella asked surprised.

"I think they were scared not to." Troy said with a smile. "After that, they only hung out with the drama people. But mostly they just hung out with each other. It was like she didn't care about having any friends besides Ryan after that. Same with Ryan. And I don't think he knew what was said at that time. He just kept glaring at me. If he had really known then what had happened, he would have been more hurt, at least I think so. I probably wouldn't of gotten away without more bruises for the things I said, because it would of pissed him off for me to say something like that involving his sister, or Chad with his incest comment."

"You want to know what I think?" Gabriella asked her boyfriend.

"Sure, go ahead." Troy replied.

"I don't think Sharpay became icy overnight because she was angry at you." When it looked like Troy was going to interrupt she hurried on. "I mean, yeah, I'm sure she was extremely pissed that you talked about her brother and twin like that, but if you ask me, she was more hurt than anything."

"Why do you say that?" Troy asked curiously.

"Well, it seems to me that she probably cut herself off from everyone, except Ryan, so she wouldn't be hurt again." Gabriella explained. Troy began to shake his head as Gabriella went on. "No, think about it." She implored him. "You were her first boyfriend, probably the first guy she ever kissed." Troy looked like he wanted to disagree until Gabriella cut him off. "Ryan is her twin brother Troy. He doesn't count on the list of guys she has kissed, which seems to just consist of you."

Seeing Troy hang his head, she continued. "Their parents don't sound like they are involved in their lives other than paying credit card bills and visiting a few times a month. You and Chad were their friends and you betrayed them. I know you didn't really mean to, but you did Troy. She is probably scared to let anyone in because she is afraid of it happening all over again. And I think, in some twisted way, she probably feels that if she isn't apart of the deal and Ryan is the one making friends, that he won't be hurt either. Which makes it seem like to me that she somehow blames herself for you and Chad making fun of Ryan." Gabriella carefully explained.

"You mean like she thinks she did something wrong and we went after Ryan because of it?" Troy asked.

"Yeah." Gabriella replied sadly.

"We would never of made fun of Ryan just to get back at her." Troy replied adamantly, but understanding seemed to dawn on him. "Oh my God, you're right." He said putting his head in his hands.

"How do you know?" Gabriella questioned. She had only been guessing.

"Think about the things she and Ryan talked about. She seems to blame herself for being labeled the Ice Queen and for Ryan not having many friends. Plus, why would she push Ryan to be friends with us after Chad and I talked about him if she didn't think she was the reason we were mean to him to begin with???" Troy questioned.

"You're right, it doesn't make sense." Gabriella agreed.

"Gabi, would you be ok with us trying to become friends with Sharpay? Like asking her and Ryan to eat lunch with us and asking them to hang out with us and being sincere about it?"

"Sounds like a great plan." Gabriella smiled kissing Troy's lips. "But you'll have to get control of Chad." She told him.

"Why?" Troy asked curiously.

"Think about it Troy. Chad still calls her the Ice Queen and talks bad about her. I mean, it's the reason Ryan doesn't really care to hang out with us all that much. Because he doesn't want to hear Chad talk about his sister." Gabriella explained.

"Do you think I should tell him what we heard so he'll understand?" Troy asked. "I mean, I think he started the Ice Queen thing for me anyways."

"What do you mean?" Gabriella curiously asked.

"Sharpay seemed so completely over our break up when she came back. I was still upset over it, so Chad started saying "She was just an Ice Queen who didn't have feelings, that's why she was over it so quick" to make me feel better." Troy told her.

"Then you might have to explain it to him, so he can realize that she isn't really an Ice Queen, just a really good actress." Gabriella replied.

Just then, Gabriella felt her phone vibrating in her jacket pocket. "Man! It's been forty-five minutes since we left the others." Troy exclaimed looking at his watch.

"Hey Taylor." Gabriella answered after looking at the ID name. "Yeah, we're on our way. Took longer to find my math book than we thought. No, Ryan isn't here, so he isn't coming." Gabriella responded looking at Troy. "Yeah, we'll be there in about fifteen minutes. See ya." Gabriella told Taylor as they hung up. Gabriella grabbed her math book off the floor and stood up along with Troy.

"Hey," Gabriella said putting her hand on Troy's arm. "lets just go have fun with our friends and not worry about this. Tomorrow at school we'll start being nicer to Sharpay and try to include Ryan and her more."

"You do realize that she is probably going to lash out at first." Troy responded.

"Yeah, she will. It's all part of trying to protect herself. But we'll get through to her." Gabriella told him. "Besides, could you really be totally ok with not doing anything after all we heard?"

"You're right. It would drive me crazy. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into." Troy told her.

"I know this won't be easy Troy, but if we can end up being friends with Sharpay and better friends with Ryan, it will be worth it. But I hope you realize that Sharpay won't be the only skeptical one. Ryan will be too." Gabriella explained to Troy as they walked out of the theater.

"Yeah, I'm sure he will be. Chad and I have treated Sharpay so bad in the past, he probably won't understand why we suddenly are wanting to be friends with her. Come to think of it, Chad might not understand that either at first." Troy told her with a smile.

"Ryan might even try to keep her from becoming friends with all of us to try and keep her from getting hurt. It sounded like he really doesn't trust you and Chad, especially Chad." Gabriella said.

"We'll make this work. I have to try and make it up to her and Ryan." Troy said, looking worried.

"Don't worry Troy, this will all work out. We'll make sure of it." Gabriella told him as they walked out of the school towards the movie theater where there friends were waiting on them, having no idea about the changes that would take place the following day.

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**AN:** Hope you guys liked it! Please please R&R and let me know what you think! Katie 


	5. Confusion and Homeroom

**An:** Sorry, this chapter is a little short, but I kind of needed to get this part out of the way before I could go on. Please let me know what you think, or maybe what you think should happen so I can get some ideas or something!

**Disclaimer:** Much too depressing to continue to write over and over again, so see the 1st chapter.

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**Confusion and Homeroom**

That night, Troy and Gabriella just went and hung out with their friends and managed to forget about Ryan and Sharpay and all they had heard. The next morning however, it was the first thing on their minds when they woke up. They had decided to meet outside the school just before it started. "You ready for this?" Gabriella asked Troy.

They had decided, since it was Friday, that they wanted to start trying to befriend Sharpay before the weekend, so they could invite her and Ryan to do something. "Ready as I'll ever be." Troy told her nervously.

"Have you talked to Chad yet?" Gabriella asked.

"No, not yet. I'm hoping he'll just follow my lead and be nice to her because I am, but if that doesn't work, I'll talk to him." Troy told her.

"If you say so." Gabriella responded hesitantly. She had a bad feeling that Chad wouldn't be that easily influenced.

"Let's do it." Troy smiled at her as he took her hand and they walked into the school.

They saw Taylor, Chad, Kelsi, and Zeke hanging out near Troy and Chad's lockers talking, while Ryan and Sharpay were a little closer to them getting books out of their own lockers, talking quietly. Troy and Gabriella had to smile at their clothes. Ryan was wearing black pants that were a little tighter than most guys were comfortable wearing, a light blue long sleeved collared shirt, with a matching blue beret on his head. Sharpay, meanwhile, was wearing a black skirt, light blue long sleeved peasant top, and blue sparkly pins holding her hair perfectly in place. "I wonder if they plan to match every day or if it's just the twin thing." Gabriella wondered aloud

"The twin thing I think." Troy answered looking at Ryan and Sharpay. "In middle school, they were late to school all the time because they would accidently dress in matching outfits and have to change. Finally, in 8th grade, they just gave up and they've been wearing matching clothes ever since."

"That's kinda cool." Gabriella said smiling at Troy as they walked towards the Evans twins.

"Hey Ryan." Troy said as they reached Ryan and Sharpay.

"Hey!" Ryan responded as he shut his locker and turned to lean against it smiling at Gabriella and Troy, while Sharpay ignored them, continuing to look in her locker.

"Hey Sharpay!" Gabriella greeted her.

"Umm, hey." Sharpay responded looking confused and suspicious.

"Ryan, I'll see you in homeroom." Sharpay told her brother as she shut her locker and turned to walk away.

Gabriella quickly grabbed her arm before she could leave. "Wow Sharpay! That top is so cute! Looks great on you!"

Sharpay looked at her confused before something seemed to click in her eyes. "Of course it's great! Do you honestly think I would settle for any less???" Sharpay exclaimed. Turning to her brother she added, "Better not be late to homeroom Ryan. We have to reherse after school. We can't afford for you to get detention." With that, Sharpay spun on her heed and stalked off towards their homeroom.

"Something going on guys?" Ryan asked raising an eyebrow looking at Troy.

"What do you mean man?" Troy played dumb.

"Nothing. Forget about it." Ryan responded still looking curious. "I'll see you guys in class." With that, Ryan turned and followed after his sister.

""Why didn't you tell Ryan the truth? About us wanting to be friends with Sharpay?" Gabriella asked him.

"Did you see how he was looking at me?" Troy exclaimed. "I didn't dare tell him that we spied on him and Sharpay!" Gabriella looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Ok, ok. I chickened out." Troy finally admitted.

"Why?" Gabriella asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Ryan and I might be getting back to being friends again, but we've never talked about the stuff I said and did. When this all comes out, I'm gonna have to talk to not just Ryan about it, but Sharpay too." Troy explained.

"So, do you want to just forget all this? Just go on like we never heard them?" Gabriella asked softly.

Troy was quiet for a minute before he shook his head, a determined albeit nervous look settled on his face. "No, I have to do this. They both deserve an apology for all that's happened."

"Good." Gabriella replied grinning. "We had better get to class before we're late." Gabriella added and together they hurried off to their homeroom. They reached Mrs. Darbus's class just before the bell. As they entered the room, they looked at each other, reaching a silent agreement. Instead of taking their normal seats near Chad and Taylor, they took seats on the row beside Ryan and Sharpay, with Gabriella sitting in the front row next to Sharpay and Troy sitting in the seat right behind her next to Ryan. Gabriella saw Sharpay turn around to look at Ryan, who gave her a confused half shrug. Gabriella was slowly learning that, to learn what the twins were really feeling or thinking, you had to really pay attention to their slight movements and body language. They communicated so much through such small gestures and movements that it was making her head spin. Meanwhile, Troy was trying to ignore the confused and surprised looks that Chad, Taylor, Kelsi and Zeke were sending them. "It's gonna be a long day." Troy mumbled under his breath, as Mrs.  
Darbus rose to begin homeroom.

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**AN: **Now that yall have read, please take the time to review and let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is always welcome! Once again, sorry its so short, but I should have more up in a couple of days! Thanks for reading! Katie 


	6. Warnings and Theater Conversations

**AN:** I wanted to go ahead and get this out since I will be gone over the weekend and won't be able to update til monday. I hope you guys like it!

**Disclaimer: **Refer to chapter one. HSM isn't all about Ryan and Sharpay, so I don't own it.

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**Warnings and Theater Conversations**

"For homeroom this week, we will be utilizing your artistic tendencies to help enrich and create the illusion that will accompany our Winter Musicale." Mrs. Darbus announced looking thrilled

"What?" Troy said completely lost.

"She means we'll be working on the sets." Ryan whispered to him grinning.

"Thanks. I don't speak drama." Troy replied back to Ryan, grinning himself.

"So let us collect our things and head to the hallowed hall where our Musicale will be held." Mrs. Darbus said as she gathered her things and left the class room.

The only people gathering their things and standing to leave were Ryan, Sharpay, and Kelsi. Everyone else was just sitting in their desks looking confused. "She means lets go to the theater." Kelsi told the class giggling while Sharpay just rolled her eyes as she and Ryan went to exit the class.

Troy and Gabriella quickly got their stuff together and hurried to catch up with the twins. Ryan and Sharpay didn't realize Troy and Gabriella had caught up to them, as Ryan whispered something in Sharpay's ear and she giggled and pushed him , to which he retaliated by poking her in the side. Troy and Gabriella covered their grins as Troy called out to them. "Hey you two! Wait up!"

The twins' heads whipped around to look behind them. Sharpay turned and gave her brother a look that Gabriella seemed to think contained a lot of frustration and confusion. She noticed Ryan gave her a barely noticeable shrug and a slight head shake. She probably would never of seen it if she hadn't been looking for it. "Hey guys. What's up?" Ryan asked.

"Not much, we just wanted to walk over with you." Gabriella responded giving Sharpay a smile. Sharpay returned her smile with a calculating look she quickly covered with a fake smile. "Well, isn't that just great!" She said sarcastically.

"Shar…" Ryan said in a slight warning tone, even while he was giving Troy and Gabriella a look of his own. Sharpay just rolled her eyes and turned around to walk on.

Gabriella hurried to catch up with her. "So, are you and Ryan auditioning again for the Winter Musical?"

"It's Musicale and of course we are! What good would the Musicale be without its stars???" Sharpay responded icily.

"Yeah, I guess the show would be in trouble if you two decided not to audition." Gabriella told her honestly.

"Oh please. You would love it. It would make it all the more easier for you and your lunk head boyfriend to get the leads. Well, that isn't happening again." Sharpay told her firmly, her eyes flashing.

"I know it isn't." Gabriella told her simply.

"No way will you two beat us out again. Wait a minute, what?" Sharpay responded finally realizing that Gabriella had agreed with her.

"I know it isn't happening again. For one, Troy and I are way too busy to even consider auditioning this semester. He has all his basketball stuff and I have science club and that kind of stuff. But second of all, I think the main reason we even beat you two out to begin with is because we were something different. Not because we were something better. No way would we beat you two out again." Gabriella explained.

"Yeah, no way." Sharpay said softly, not seeming to really know what to say. She turned around to look at Ryan who looked as confused as she did.

"Come on, we had better hurry up. Mrs. Darbus would just love to give us detentions and make us work on sets after school too!" Gabriella told Sharpay as she grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hall way. Leaving a smiling Troy and an confused and seemingly upset Ryan behind.

"What's going on Bolton?" Ryan asked him.

"What do you mean?" Troy responded. "We're just walking with you guys to the theater."

"Cut the crap ok?" Ryan told him getting more upset. "What is really going on? You haven't wanted to be near Sharpay for a while now. Even at Lava Springs you were always making faces behind her back when you thought no one was looking. Why all of a sudden are you and Gabriella trying to be friends with her? If this is some sick game of yours to hurt her……" Ryan threatened Troy, eyes blazing.

"No! It's not anything to hurt her! I wouldn't hurt her!" Troy exclaimed.

"Yeah, no offense, but I've heard that before and it was a lie when you said it then, so excuse me for not buying what you are saying." Ryan glared at Troy. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to find my sister." Ryan turned and stalked off towards the theater.

Troy let out a sigh as he watched Ryan leave. He should of known Ryan would be angry at first. He had counted on Ryan being confused and standoffish. But he hadn't counted on him being so upset and angry. He quickly followed after Ryan towards the theater.

As Troy got closer to Ryan, he saw him pause outside the theater doors. He seemed to take a minute to calm himself down before he opened the doors and went inside. Troy hurried after him as soon as he saw the doors close.

When Troy got inside, he saw Gabriella and Sharpay sitting on the stage talking, Sharpay still seeming a little confused and icy, but seeming to calm down as the conversation went on. What worried Troy was watching Ryan walk towards them. He quickened his pace and got there in time to see Ryan place his hand over his sisters and squeeze it. "We need to go talk to Mrs. Darbus about the auditions." Ryan told her. Sharpay just seemed to look at him for a minute before understanding seemed to click and she immediately seemed to slip back into her Ice Queen persona. "Of course Ryan. Thank you so much for rescuing me from such boring conversation." She added as the two of them walked off.

"What in the world?" Gabriella said out loud looking confused. "What did I do?"

"It wasn't you Gabi." Troy told her. "Remember how we mentioned that Ryan could end up being part of the reason it would be hard to get Sharpay to be friends with us again?"

"Yeah." Gabriella told him, still not understanding.

"Well, it's happening. After you two walked off, he cornered me in the hall way accusing me of this all being some big plan to hurt Sharpay." Troy explained, hanging his head.

"Well, maybe, for now anyways, we should just stick to trying to befriend Sharpay together. Maybe if he is there too, Ryan won't feel such an immediate threat and relax a little." Gabriella reasoned.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan." Troy agreed, just as the other Wild Cats burst into the theater.

"Hey man." Chad said as he, Taylor and Zeke walked over to Troy and Gabriella.

"Hey!" Troy responded. "Where's Kelsi?" He asked, not seeing her with the group.

"She went over there to find out if anything is set for the auditions or the musical yet." Zeke responded pointing over to where Mrs. Darbus, Sharpay, Ryan, and now Kelsi were standing talking.

"So, you guys made any plans for the weekend yet?" Taylor asked.

"Nope, not yet. I was hoping one of you would have an idea of something to do." Gabriella told the others.

"Well, we could go bowling or something." Chad said.

"Do you know how gross those shoes are? Do you know the kind of diseases in them?" Taylor asked him incredulously.

"Ok, no bowling." Zeke said with a grin.

"Well, we just saw a movie yesterday, so I don't really want to do that." Taylor added.

"Yeah, me either." Gabriella responded, just as the bell signaling the end of homeroom rang.

"Well, why don't we talk more about it at lunch? That way, we can ask Kelsi too and see if she has any ideas." Troy told them. The group responded with a chorus "Sure!" and "Sounds great!" And with that Zeke, Taylor and Chad left to go to their 1st period class.

Troy and Gabriella watched the twins walk off the stage and hurried to catch up with them. "Hey you two! Have a nice chat with Mrs. Darbus?" Gabriella asked.

"Umm, sure?" Sharpay answered glancing at Ryan, whose face seemed to hold a hint of suspicion before he covered it up.

"Well, if you can really call it nice. All we did was talk about the auditions." Ryan added.

"Hey, why don't you two sit with us today at lunch?" Troy asked them. "We're trying to come up with something to do this weekend. Maybe you guys can help us figure something out and if you aren't busy, come with us this weekend!"

"I don't know, we have a lot of rehearsing to do." Sharpay said uncertainly.

"Come on! Please! It would be so great if you could just take a little break to hang out with us!" Gabriella pleaded.

"Well…." Sharpay began, looking at Gabriella. Apparently deciding she was being sincere, she added "I guess taking a little bit of time off wouldn't hurt us too badly. Right Ryan?"

"I don't know Shar, we already didn't get to practice yesterday." Ryan told her, while watching Troy.

"Come on man. It'll be fine." Troy told him quietly.

"All right, I guess it wouldn't hurt." Ryan told his twin, who grinned up at him.

"We've got to get to class, but I guess we'll see you at lunch then." Sharpay told Troy and Gabriella.

With that they turned and walked off. Troy and Gabriella watched them for a minute before walking in the same direction towards their class. Once they were out in the hall way, they slowed as they heard low voices ahead of them. "It really seems like Gabriella was telling the truth Ryan. I don't think she would lie about it." Sharpay told her brother.

"I just don't want you to get your hopes up Shar." Ryan told her softly, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"You don't think she would want to be friends with me?" Sharpay asked him, not meeting his eyes.

"I don't know Shar. I mean, she doesn't really know you. Not the real you anyways. And she is best friends with the group that makes fun of you all the time." Ryan said, wrapping his arm around her.

"Well, I hope this is for real." Sharpay said in a soft voice. "I love you Ry, you know that. But sometimes it would be nice to have a girl to talk to. It's kinda hard to talk to you about guys or "girl problems" with you putting your hands over your ears and humming to yourself." Sharpay grinned up at him.

"Hey, you're my baby sister. I don't care to hear you talk about any of that stuff!" Ryan defended himself.

"Well, anyways, I think she was telling the truth. It seems like maybe that group wants to give me a chance, and if they do, I don't want to waste it." Sharpay said determinedly.

"Yeah." Ryan said looking worried, as he and Sharpay disappeared around the corner and out of site.

"It looks like its working Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Sharpay seems to want to be our friend!"

"Yeah, but Ryan isn't buying it that much." Troy reminded her

"Well, everything will be different after lunch, you'll see." Gabriella told him confidently. 

Neither of them had any idea just how different things would be after lunch, and not necessarily in the way they had hoped.

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**AN: **Hey! Hope you guys liked it! Ok, now you've read, so don't forget to review! Even if it is just a short quick one its appreciated! I love hearing what yall think! Katie 


	7. Lunch Time Part 1

**AN:** Hey you guys! Sorry for being a little late with this chapter, but I've been sick and not able to write. It's not much, but I wanted to at least get this up for you guys! Lots of thanks to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot! Now on with the story!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own a thing sadly.

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**Lunch Time Part 1**

_Last time: Once they were out in the hall way, they slowed as they heard low voices ahead of them. "It really seems like Gabriella was telling the truth Ryan. I don't think she would lie about it." Sharpay told her brother._

_"I just don't want you to get your hopes up __Shar__." Ryan told her softly, placing his hand on her shoulder._

_"You don't think she would want to be friends with me?" Sharpay asked him, not meeting his eyes._

_"I don't know __Shar__. I mean, she doesn't really know you. Not the real you anyways. And she is best friends with the group that makes fun of you all the time." Ryan said, wrapping his arm around her._

_"Well, I hope this is for real." Sharpay said in a soft voice. "I love you __Ry__, you know that. But sometimes it would be nice to have a girl to talk to. It's __kinda__ hard to talk to you about guys or "girl problems" with you putting __your hands__ over your ears and humming to yourself." Sharpay grinned up at him._

_"Hey, you're my baby sister. I don't care to hear you talk about any of that stuff!" Ryan defended himself._

_"Well, anyways, I think she was telling the truth. It seems like maybe that group wants to give me a chance, and if they do, I don't want to waste it." Sharpay said determinedly._

_"Yeah."__ Ryan said looking worried, as he and Sharpay disappeared around the corner and out of site._

_"It looks like its working Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Sharpay seems to want to be our friend!"_

_"Yeah, but Ryan isn't buying it that much." Troy reminded her._

_"Well, everything will be different after lunch, you'll see." Gabriella told him confidently._

_Neither of them had any idea just how different things would be after lunch, and not necessarily in the way they had hoped._

By the time lunch rolled around, there were four very nervous Wild Cats and four very oblivious Wild Cats heading toward the cafeteria. When Ryan and Sharpay reached the cafeteria, Chad, Taylor, Zeke, and Kelsi already had gotten their food. Troy and Gabriella were at the back of the lunch line, so the twins got behind them.

As they were getting their food, Gabriella, Ryan and Sharpay all laughed as Troy's tray seemed to keep getting fuller. "Hey! I need my strength!" He defended, looking down at his two hamburgers, large fry, chocolate chip cookie, and piece of cheese cake. "I have basketball practice after school!" He added as he grabbed a coke and placed it on his very full tray. "You just have science club after school." He told Gabriella looking at her tray of a hamburger and side salad and water that seemed to disappear next to Troy's tray.

"Speaking of practice," Ryan began eyeing his sister with her tray of a salad and water. "you'll never make it through practice if that's all you eat."

"Would you really be wanting to lift me if I ate that?" She questioned with a grin gesturing at Ryan's burger and fries.

"I'm a little hungrier than usual. Will you split a burger with me if I get two?" Ryan asked.

"Will you leave me and my salad alone if I do?" Sharpay countered, while rolling her eyes toward Gabriella, telling her that she knew what her twin was doing.

"Yep." Ryan said with a smirk.

"Then ok." Sharpay, Troy, and Gabriella laughed as the words weren't out of her mouth before the second burger was on Ryan's tray.

"See! Troy exclaimed, as he paid for his food. "I'm not the only one who understands that food equals strength!"

"Whatever Troy." Gabriella giggled as she moved to pay for her food.

"I paid yesterday. Your turn today." Sharpay told her brother. Ryan nodded and pulled out his walled and paid for his food and his sister's food.

"Oh, just in time! Before my two stars sit down, I would like to talk to you for a minute." Mrs. Darbus said as she approached the group, looking at the twins.

"Well…." Sharpay said, looking at Gabriella.

"You two go ahead. We'll save you seats so when Mrs. Darbus is done talking to you, you can come and sit down with us." Gabriella told Sharpay smiling.

"Ok." Sharpay responded, smiling slightly back. With that, Ryan and Sharpay followed Mrs. Darbus to a table in the corner. Troy and Gabriella walked towards their table, both nervous and excited with what lunch time with the Evans twins would bring.

"Hey guys!" Troy greeted the others as he and Gabriella took their seats beside Chad and Taylor and across from Zeke and Kelsi.

"Hey! You two took long enough!" Chad exclaimed.

"Wow that really didn't take long." Troy whispered to Gabriella, who looked up and saw Ryan and Sharpay walking towards them. "We didn't even save them seats yet!"

Gabriella grinned as she whispered to Troy, "I have an idea." She turned and looked at Kelsi, "Kelsi, would you mind sliding down two seats?"

"Umm, sure, not a problem." Kelsi said slowly, giving Gabriella a weird look.

Troy grinned at Gabriella. "Perfect!"

Gabriella turned and made eye contact with the twins and motioned to the seats across from her. They nodded and both looked to slightly blush as they switched sides walking so that Ryan would be sitting by Kelsi and Sharpay would be sitting by Zeke. They both stopped to take a minute to calm their nerves before they came up to the table.

"Hey guys." Ryan greeted everyone as he and Sharpay arrived at the table.

"Hey!" Zeke and Kelsi exclaimed together, Zeke staring at Sharpay who was looking down, and Kelsi grinning up at Ryan who smiled back.

"You two gonna stand there all day? Or are you gonna sit down?" Gabriella teased lightly. She and Troy both laughed as Gabriella was shot identical looks of annoyance from the twins as they sat down. They were quickly silenced when they saw the look of disbelief and confusion Chad was sending them.

"So, its not enough that we have to deal with her during class? Now we have to do it during lunch too???" Chad asked with disbelief gesturing towards Sharpay.

Gabriella remembered what Ryan had said about being able to read Sharpay's eyes, so she glanced into them quickly and grimaced as she saw the flash of pain before it was "iced over".

Troy groaned to himself and bent down to pick up his napkin he had dropped. He was surprised when he saw Ryan's hands clenched into fists because his face seemed calmed. Just as he re-clenched his fists, Sharpay moved one of her hands over Ryan's. It seemed like she was trying to calm him down. At the same time, he noticed her hands were slightly shaking. Troy swore under his breath as he realized that this lunch seemed to have the potential to make things worse then ever, and he realized that he had no idea at all which way things would go, but judging by the way things were starting out, it was enough for him to be afraid. Very afraid.

* * *

**AN: **Yes I know this isn't much, but like I said in the beginning, I've been sick and haven't been able to write. I wanted to go ahead and get this out so I can concentrate on what will actually be said during lunch. Like always, please review now that you have read! I would love to know what you guys are thinking! Constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks for reading! I'll have more up soon! Katie 


	8. Lunch Time Part 2

**AN:** Hey guys. Here is the next chapter! I hope yall like it!

**Disclaimer:** Nope, still don't own a thing.

* * *

_Previously: _

_"Hey guys." Ryan greeted everyone as he and Sharpay arrived at the table._

_"Hey!" __Zeke and Kelsi exclaimed together, Zeke staring at Sharpay who was looking down, and Kelsi grinning up at Ryan who smiled back._

_"You two gonna stand there all day? Or are you gonna sit down?" Gabriella teased lightly. She and Troy both laughed as Gabriella was shot identical looks of annoyance from the twins as they sat down. They were quickly silenced when they saw the look of disbelief and confusion Chad was sending them._

_"So, __its__ not enough that we have to deal with her during class? Now we have to do it during lunch too???" Chad asked with disbelief gesturing towards Sharpay. _

_Gabriella remembered what Ryan had said about being able to read Sharpay's eyes, so she glanced into them quickly and grimaced as she saw the flash of pain before it was "iced over"._

_Troy groaned to himself and bent down to pick up his napkin he had dropped. He was surprised when he saw Ryan's hands clenched into fists because his face seemed calmed. Just as he re-clenched his fists, Sharpay moved one of her hands over Ryan's. It seemed like she was trying to calm him down. At the same time, he noticed her hands were slightly shaking. Troy swore under his breath as he realized that this lunch seemed to have the potential to make things worse then __ever__ and he realized that he had no idea at all which way things would go_

**Lunch Time Part 2**_  
_

Troy finally and reluctantly sat back up at the table. "I don't recall asking if you cared or what you thought about my sitting here Chad." Sharpay responded in a fake sugary sweet voice.

"Well Ice Queen, I don't recall directing that question to you, because to do that, I would have to initiate a conversation with you. And I'd rather stick pins in my eyes." Chad told Sharpay grinning.

Troy, Gabriella, Zeke, and Kelsi watched the exchange wide eyed, all wanting to break in but none knowing what to say. "Good, because the feeling is mutual." Sharpay smirked.

"Well, you know what Ice Queen, you can say whatever you want about me, because at the end of the day, I have friends who care about me. That's something you'll never have." Chad told her smirking back.

"I have friends." Sharpay said, her uncertainty beginning to show.

"I'm not talking about those bimbos from Lava Springs. All they care about is your daddy's money." Chad responded.

"I'm not talking about them." Sharpay told him, looking quickly at Troy and Gabriella.

Gabriella opened her mouth to confirm to Sharpay that they were her friends, but Chad cut her off. "Oh please. You have no real friends. You want to know why Ice Queen?" Chad taunted, leaning in seeming to sense victory at hand.

"Why?" Sharpay asked quietly, eyes getting big as she began to lose the battle to keep her cool icy exterior in tact. Troy watched as Ryan, whose eyes seemed to have flames dancing in them, opened and shut his mouth, obviously too angry to be able to form words. Troy grimaced at the thought of what he would be like when he found his voice.

"You have no friends because you turn everyone's lives around you into a living hell. Even your twin's life. Ryan would of had lots of friends long ago if it wasn't for his Ice Queen sister. He would be better off if you weren't his sister, or better yet, if you had never been born." Chad finished with a grin, not noticing Ryan staring at him like he wanted to kill him, something Troy was a little worried he would actually do. Chad seemed not to notice the look of surprise on Taylor's face or the angry glares he was getting from Troy, Gabriella, Zeke and Kelsi.

Sharpay's eyes quickly snapped to look at Ryan, needing her big brother to assure her that this wasn't the case and that he really loved her and cared for her. Ryan, however, was too busy glaring at Chad, Troy, and Gabriella to notice. Taking Ryan's lack of response as agreeing with Chad, Sharpay's eyes filled with tears for a moment before she blinked them away. "Um, I need to go get my stuff out of the theater." Sharpay said quickly, getting up to leave.

"Want me to come with you?" Ryan asked her, her leaving and teary eyes breaking him out of his angry trance.

"No, that's ok. I'll see you next period Ryan." Sharpay answered quietly, not meeting his eyes.

"Hey," Ryan said softly, standing and grabbing her wrist before she could leave. "You know I love you more than anything right Shar?"

"Yeah Ryan, I know." She said, still not meeting his eyes.

"Hey," Ryan said, ignoring the look of disbelief on Chad's face, or looks of surprised happiness on Zeke and Kelsi's faces at the tenderness in Ryan's voice. Taylor looked surprised, but Troy and Gabriella just smiled at the twins, remembering the scene they witnessed in the theater. "I mean it little sis." He added, as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the top of her head.

Sharpay smiled a real smile as they separated. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and looked into her big brother's eyes. "I know, I love you too Ry."

"Next period then?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah." She responded, all the pain Chad's words had caused her evident in her voice. She walked a few steps before she turned around, tears beginning to form. "You know what the funny thing is?" She asked. "I actually believed you." She said looking at Gabriella, before she fled the cafeteria, either ignoring or not hearing Gabriella as she called her name, tears in her voice. Ryan watched as his sister hurried away.

Troy froze as Ryan turned around. Looking at Ryan's beyond angry face, Troy's thoughts were limited to "Oh God, we're gonna die. If we live through this, I'm gonna kill Chad!"

Gabriella's thoughts however, were very different as a tear slid down her cheek. "She thinks we planned this! She thinks I pretended to be her friend just to hurt her! Poor Sharpay!" But as she raised her head to look at Ryan, her thoughts immediately changed to "We're all gonna die! He's gonna kill us all and no one will ever find our bodies because there will be nothing left to find! But if, by some miracle we do make it through alive, I'm so killing Chad!"

The lunch room, filled with the East High students, went dead silent as the unthinkable happened. Ryan Evans, the most calm and laid back guy around, the guy who never let anything get to him, the King of Drama himself, exploded on the table of scared Wild Cats.

* * *

**AN:** Hmm, what will happen next? Well, since that part isn't written yet, yall will have to wait to find out! Although reviews do seem to speed up my writing process! (hint hint) Ok, you guys know the drill. You've read the chapter, now review! They really do mean a lot! Katie 


	9. Lunch Time Part 3

**AN: **Hey yall! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, but I wanted to try and get it right. The funny thing is my inspiration seems to mainly come during my American History course. Well, I hope you like this!

**Warnings:** Well, Ryan is a little more than angry here, so he does use a little not so nice language. Not real bad, but there is a curse word(two if you count hell).

**Disclaimer:** These things really depress me. Nope don't own a thing.

* * *

_Previously_

_"Hey," Ryan said softly, standing and grabbing her wrist before she could leave. "You know I love you more than anything right Shar?"_

_"Yeah Ryan, I know." She said, still not meeting his eyes._

_"Hey," Ryan said, ignoring the look of disbelief on Chad's face, or looks of surprised happiness on Zeke and Kelsi's faces at the tenderness in Ryan's voice. Taylor looked surprised, but Troy and Gabriella just smiled at the twins, remembering the scene they witnessed in the theater. "I mean it little sis." He added, as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the top of her head._

_Sharpay smiled a real smile as they separated. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and looked into her big brother's eyes. "I know, I love you too Ry."_

_"Next period then?" Ryan asked._

_"Yeah." She responded, all the pain Chad's words had caused her evident in her voice. She walked a few steps before she turned around, tears beginning to form. "You know what the funny thing is?" She asked. "I actually believed you." She said looking at Gabriella, before she fled the cafeteria, either ignoring or not hearing Gabriella as she called her name, tears in her voice. Ryan watched as his sister hurried away._

_Troy froze as Ryan turned around. Looking at Ryan's beyond angry face, Troy's thoughts were limited to "Oh God, we're gonna die. If we live through this, I'm gonna kill Chad!"_

_Gabriella's thoughts however, were very different as a tear slid down her cheek. "She thinks we planned this! She thinks I pretended to be her friend just to hurt her! Poor Sharpay!" But as she raised her head to look at Ryan, her thoughts immediately changed to "We're all gonna die! He's gonna kill us all and no one will ever find our bodies because there will be nothing left to find! But if, by some miracle we do make it through alive, I'm so killing Chad!"_

_The lunch room, filled with the East High students, went dead silent as the unthinkable happened. Ryan Evans, the most calm and laid back guy around, the guy who never let anything get to him, the King of Drama himself, exploded on the table of scared Wild Cats._

**Lunch Time Part 3**

"What the hell was that about?!?!?!?" Ryan yelled furiously.

"Ryan, it's not what you think." Troy began.

"Really??? Cause I'll tell you exactly what it looks like to me! It looks to me Troy, like you and Gabriella were nice to Sharpay to get her thinking you were her friends so that we would sit here and your buddy Chad could tear her apart!" Ryan screamed, eyes bulging and face turning red with anger.

"Ryan please." Gabriella begged teary eyed. "We didn't know this was gonna happen! We never would of invited you two to sit here if we had known this would happen!"

"Ryan man," Chad started, putting his hand on Ryan's shoulder. Making fun of Sharpay had quit being fun when he saw the tears in her eyes. It was fine when it didn't seem to really hurt her. He always knew on some level that the things he said at least bothered her, but seeing the tears really hammered home just how much it hurt her. He felt even worse seeing how upset and angry Ryan was. "They're telling the truth. They didn't..." Chad was so intent on calming Ryan down that he didn't see Ryan's fist flying toward him. The first punch split his lip and made him stumble back. Before he could recover Ryan hit him in the eye making him fall to the ground.

"And you!" Ryan growled loudly, glaring down at Chad. "I knew you never changed! Sharpay tried to convince me that you were different! That you weren't the same guy you were years ago! She almost had me believing her too! But you just proved that, if anything, you're worse than ever!" Ryan yelled at Chad, who just sat there on the floor staring down at the ground.

"And what about you three." Ryan yelled as he whipped around to look at Taylor, Zeke, and Kelsi.

"Ryan, I had no clue Chad was going to go after Sharpay like that." Taylor said quietly. "Your sister isn't one of my favorite people, but you're my friend. I wouldn't hurt you like that."

"And dude, you know how I feel about your sister." Zeke told Ryan. "I wouldn't be a part of anything that would hurt her, especially like this."

"And Ryan," Kelsi began, standing up and placing a hand on his arm. "I've worked with both of you for years in the Musicales. And lately, I don't know, she and I have actually been getting along. I wouldn't do anything that would hurt her like this. Or hurt you like this." Kelsi added softly.

Ryan seemed to of calmed down a bit at hearing reassurances from Taylor, Zeke, and Kelsi, but his eyes still seemed to blaze as he glanced back at Chad, Troy, and Gabriella. "I knew I was right not to trust you." Ryan growled at Troy. "You were the one, I guess, that surprised me the most." Ryan said looking at Gabriella. "I was suspicious at first, but you fooled me into thinking you were being for real. Fooled Sharpay too. She really thought you wanted to be her friend. She had gotten excited at the prospect of having another girl to talk to."

Ryan then faced Troy again. "I guess Sharpay is a little gullible when it comes to people out to hurt her. Someone out to hurt me, well, she can spot it a mile away. She learned how to do that after what happened before. But someone out to hurt her? She never can see it." The guilty "I'm suppose to see it and protect her from it" went unsaid. But the gang heard it as loudly as if it had been spoken out loud.

"But you know what makes me more mad than anything else you said?" Ryan asked Chad, anger seeming to grow. "Not that you took it upon yourself to speak for these guys. Who am I to say that you weren't right? It looks like you were about Sharpay not having friends. You were even right about the Lava Springs girls. Although Sharpay knew that too. What pissed me off is that you took it upon yourself to try to tell Sharpay what I think and feel about her. You decided you had the right to tell **MY TWIN SISTER** how I felt about her. You couldn't of been farther off either!" Ryan said glaring down at Chad. "I love that girl more than anything and more than anyone in the world. She's my twin, best friend, and my other half. You don't know her the way I do, and you have no right to presume that you know anything at all about us, because you don't know damn thing. If I never had any friends again, I would be fine as long as I had her! Do you understand me???" Ryan yelled at Chad.

"Yeah, I get it." Chad said quietly, not meeting Ryan's fiery gaze.

"Ryan man..." Troy began.

"No Bolton, don't talk to me. I don't want to talk to you. Any of you for that matter. I don't want to hear any more lies about how "you had nothing to do with it" or how "you didn't mean for her to be hurt like this". You're all a bunch of liars. Kelsi, Zeke, Taylor, I know you guys probably didn't know, but you three," Ryan said glaring at Troy, Gabriella, and Chad. "I'm done with you and I never want to speak to any of you three ever again. Stay the hell away from me and my sister." Ryan finished angrily, as he stormed out of the cafeteria.

* * *

**AN:** Hey guys, well I hope you liked this chapter. I've really been nervous about this one. I did try to start redeeming Chad a little. I didn't want to make him out to be a total creep. Just a little creepish. If that makes any sense at all! Well, you guys know what to do! You've read, now please review and let me know what you thought! I'm really anxious to know what yall think about this chapter! Katie 


	10. Aftermath and Explanations

**AN:** Hey you guys! Here is the next chapter! I hope yall like it!

**Disclaimer:** Ugh, nope still own nothing. Well, except for my HSM cds!

* * *

_Previously_

_"But you know what makes me more mad than anything else you said?" Ryan asked Chad, anger seeming to grow. "Not that you took it upon yourself to speak for these guys. Who am I to say that you weren't right? It looks like you were about Sharpay not having friends. You were even right about the Lava Springs girls. Although Sharpay knew that too. What pissed me off is that you took it upon yourself to try to tell Sharpay what I think and feel about her. You decided you had the right to tell **MY TWIN SISTER** how I felt about her. You couldn't of been farther off either!" Ryan said glaring down at Chad. "I love that girl more than anything and more than anyone in the world. She's my twin, best friend, and my other half. You don't know her the way I do, and you have no right to presume that you know anything at all about us, because you don't know damn thing. If I never had any friends again, I would be fine as long as I had her! Do you understand me???" Ryan yelled at Chad._

_"Yeah, I get it." Chad said quietly, not meeting Ryan's fiery gaze._

_"Ryan man..." Troy began._

_"No Bolton, don't talk to me. I don't want to talk to you. Any of you for that matter. I don't want to hear any more lies about how "you had nothing to do with it" or how "you didn't mean for her to be hurt like this". You're all a bunch of liars. Kelsi, Zeke, Taylor, I know you guys probably didn't know, but you three," Ryan said glaring at Troy, Gabriella, and Chad. "I'm done with you and I never want to speak to any of you three ever again. Stay the hell away from me and my sister." Ryan finished angrily, as he stormed out of the cafeteria._

_HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM _

**Aftermath and Explanations**

The gang sat in stunned silence watching as Ryan angrily left the lunch room. Chad had finally gotten up off the ground and was standing by the table, but not sitting down. He was still looking down so he didn't notice Gabriella getting up until he felt her slap him. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" Gabriella questioned Chad angrily, tears streaming down her face.

"Gabs..." Chad began guiltily. Gabriella lunged at him again, but was stopped when Troy, who had stood up after Gabriella had slapped Chad, wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from getting to Chad.

"No! We almost had them believing we wanted to be friends with Sharpay! She was starting to trust me and Ryan was beginning to be ok with it! Now because of you, she thinks we were just out to hurt her! We've lost any chance any chance we would of had at being friends with her, and to top it all off, we've lost Ryan's friendship too! And it's all your fault!" Gabriella choked out as her anger gave way to sadness, as she turned around and let Troy hold her against him. Troy was livid at Chad, but first thing first was for him to take care of Gabi.

"Gabs," Troy said quietly, lifting her chin so she was looking at him. "why don't you go to the bathroom, run some cold water on your face, and try to calm down." He raised an eyebrow in question to Kelsi and Taylor, who both immediately nodded, stood, and walked over to Troy and Gabriella.

"We'll go with you Gabi." Kelsi told Gabriella, as she and Taylor removed her from Troy's grasp.

"Gabs, why don't you take that time to fill them in on everything?" Troy said softly, deciding that after all they had witnessed, it wouldn't be fair to not tell them the truth. Gabriella looked at him nodding. She glanced back at Chad glaring, but Troy motioned for her to go on. "Don't worry; I'll take care of Chad." Troy assured her. At Troy's assurance, she allowed the other girls to steer her out of the cafeteria towards the restroom.

Troy watched the girls leave before he turned back around to where Zeke was still sitting and Chad was standing.

"Troy..." Chad began apologetically.

"Dude, I'm so pissed at you I don't even know where to start. I know you don't like Sharpay, but I thought you considered Ryan a friend now." Troy told Chad looking angry and confused.

"I do consider Ryan a friend." Chad responded, finally meeting Troy's eyes.

"Well, let me put it this way. What would you do if Ryan, or Zeke, or even me started talking trash about your sister?" Troy questioned.

"Beat the crap out of you." Chad responded instantly. "But if any of you were really my friends, you would never go after my sister. Troy I really don't see what this has to do with..." Chad stopped and Troy could tell from the look on his face that it had clicked with him why Ryan had reacted the way he had. He slumped down in a seat and put his head in his hands as Troy sat down next to him.

"See Chad, do you remember what Ryan said when he was telling you what Sharpay meant to him? He said she was his twin sister, his best friend, and his other half. So to him, it felt like... Well, it felt for him like it would for you if someone made fun of your sister to the point where she cried, and made fun of me to the point where I got really hurt and upset, and then they make fun of you." Troy explained.

"God, it's a wonder he didn't kill me." Chad groaned.

"Well, it's probably a good thing for you that Ryan really isn't prone to violence. I mean, think about it, the only times we've ever seen him totally lose it, what has it been over?" Troy asked.

"Over someone hurting his sister. Come to think of it, the only time I've ever really seen Sharpay lose her cool, it was over Ryan. I mean, she gets mad a lot, but she never totally loses it like she did that day." Chad responded.

"But, as you probably gathered from Gabi's rant, she and I want to become friends with Sharpay." Troy told Chad and Zeke.

"To get to be better friends with Ryan?" Zeke asked.

"No, because Sharpay isn't really how she seems. That whole icy exterior is like a protective shield." Troy explained.

"Dude, I've been saying that for a while! That she really isn't what she seems to be." Zeke responded.

"What makes you think that?" Chad asked skeptically.

"You guys remember when Gabi and I went to get her book in the theater yesterday?"

Chad and Zeke both nodded. "Well, what took us so long is that we were watching and listening to Ryan and Sharpay." Troy explained. "It was weird seeing them because they were just acting like brother and sister."

"They always act like brother and sister." Zeke said, obviously confused.

"No, we see them acting like the Ice Queen and her flunky, the Drama Queen and Drama King, and constantly fighting siblings. But we've never seen them act like brother and sister, except for well..." Troy trailed off.

"Except for today." Chad finished for Troy. "When Sharpay got up to leave and she was upset. Ryan told her he loved her and hugged her. Then she finally really smiled and kissed his cheek and told him she loved him too."

"Yeah." Troy confirmed. "It was stuff like that. Them goofing around, but then it turned serious. Sharpay was trying to convince Ryan to hang out with us, saying he needed other friends besides just her. He, of course, said no. He went on to tell her that he doesn't like hanging with us very much because, for one, he still has problems being around me because of how I "was telling Sharpay I loved her one day and three days later was calling her the Ice Queen", and number two, he doesn't care to hang around you because of how much you make fun of Sharpay and because you started the "Ice Queen" thing, and because he blames you for Sharpay and I breaking up."

"How did I get the blame for the break up?" Chad questioned.

"I think, in Ryan's mind, if you had never brought him into that making fun conversation, I never would of said anything and Sharpay wouldn't of gotten so upset." Troy explained. "Don't worry though, Ryan blames me too, and Sharpay blames both of us, but me for the break up. But here is the thing Gabs and I figured out. Sharpay blames herself too. Like she thinks we were mad at her and took it out by making fun of Ryan. We also heard Ryan say that she became the "Ice Queen" because if she kept people at a distance, she wouldn't get hurt like that again." Troy continued.

"You mean she just pretended to be all icy because, instead of not feeling anything like we thought, it hurt too much?" Chad asked.

"Exactly." Troy nodded. "Man, after she broke up with me she went home and cried her eyes out. We heard Ryan say that he knows who she really is. He also said that he was the one who held her while she cried over the break up and..." Troy trailed off.

"And what?" Chad asked, looking like he wasn't really sure he wanted to hear the rest.

"You remember how when she and Ryan came back we started calling her the Ice Queen? Well, apparently she had nightmares about that for at least a month and ended up sleeping in Ryan's bed with him because of them." Troy finished.

"Man, seriously?" Chad questioned and groaned as Troy nodded.

"So is that why you guys want to be friends with her? Because you know she isn't really how she seems to be?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah. Plus, I want to try to make it up to her for how I treated her. I feel horrible about it." Troy told him.

"She really had nightmares?" Chad asked.

"Yeah. They had to be pretty bad too for her to end up sleeping with Ryan for a month." Troy told them.

The bell rang suddenly and the boys got up to leave. "Well, at least things are making more sense to me now." Chad said to Troy.

"So, are you up to trying to be nice to Sharpay too?" Troy hesitantly asked.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, I really didn't mean to hurt her that bad. I just was trying to bother her. Not make her cry. And I really didn't mean to piss Ryan off, but I should of known it would. I just wasn't thinking." Chad admitted.

"Um, Troy, you know however hard it was to try and get Sharpay and Ryan to trust you before, it's gonna be ten times worse now right?" Zeke asked.

"Ten times??? Try one hundred times! Before all this happened Ryan was already suspicious of me. He threatened me on the way to the theater when Gabi pulled Sharpay ahead, telling me that if this was all a plan to hurt her, well, he didn't finish, but I got the point." Troy told them.

"And I made it look like it was a planned thing. I'm really sorry dude." Chad said apologetically.

"Don't worry dude. We'll work this out. As long as we're all in this together." Troy responded.

Zeke and Chad both nodded in agreement and the boys left the cafeteria to go to their class.

* * *

**AN:** Hey yall! I hope you liked this chapter! Sorry there isn't much going on. Next chapter will(I think) have Ryan and Sharpay in it with their reactions together to what happened, as well as Gabi, Kelsi, and Taylor meeting up with the boys again. Now yall have read so please review too! They really do mean a lot and I really want to know what you guys are thinking! Katie 


	11. Aftermath and Explanations Part 2

**AN: **Hey guys! I've got this up a little earlier than I thought I would because I decided to divide this chapter into two parts and I figured since I already had this part written I would post it. I hope yall like it!

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I don't own a thing.

* * *

**Aftermath and Explanations Part 2**

After a few minutes, Gabriella had finally calmed down enough to explain to Kelsi and Taylor what she and Troy had seen and heard in the theater. "Oh my gosh! Poor Sharpay!" Kelsi exclaimed looking upset.

"Definitely explains more of why Ryan blew his top too." Taylor said. "Chad and Troy have already hurt Sharpay once, and now he thinks that they planned out this huge thing just to hurt her again."

"Yeah, but now he thinks I was in on it too." Gabriella said sadly.

"Well Gabi, from his point of view, I'm sure it looked that way." Kelsi quietly added.

"I know. It just upsets me because I really felt like Sharpay was beginning to relax around me. Now it's probably gonna be rough getting her to even talk to me again." Gabriella told them.

"Ummm, no offense Gabi, but I think the biggest problem and the one that will have to be dealt with first is that I seriously doubt that Ryan is going to let you, Chad, or Troy anywhere near Sharpay." Taylor responded. Then she turned to Kelsi. "Why do you seem to be the only one who isn't surprised that Sharpay isn't the "Ice Queen" for real? Taylor questioned.

"Well, I guess because I've spent more time with her than any of you. I've seen Ryan and Sharpay goofing around when they don't realize I'm there or when they just forget I'm there. Seeing how Ryan is with Sharpay, you know the protectiveness and how sweet and caring he is with her, is part of the reason I like him so much." Kelsi explained.

"I remember one time in particular. The three of us were in the theater working on the songs for the upcoming Musicale. It was the semester before you came Gabi, and it was late on a Friday night. Mrs. Darbus had forbidden us to leave until we had at least three of the songs down perfectly. Sharpay had already gotten hers down and was sleeping in the first row, while Ryan practiced his song. They still had the duet to go over once Ryan finished." Kelsi continued.

"Anyways, Ryan was singing "Go the Distance" when he suddenly just stopped singing in the middle of it. I remember seeing his head snap towards Sharpay and I turned to look just in time to see a tear roll down her cheek. I guess Ryan had sensed something with their twin thing. She started saying stuff like "No! I'm sorry! Don't hurt him!", and then she cried out Ryan's name just as he reached her. It was so sad because the tears were pouring down her face by this point." Kelsi said with a sad look on her face.

"It took Ryan a few minutes to wake her up. Her eyes finally popped open and she sprung up into a sitting position. She seemed to look Ryan over making sure he was ok before she jumped into his open arms. He pulled her onto his lap and just kept assuring her that he was ok and that they were both safe, that it was just a bad dream. He kept holding her and stroking her hair until she finally calmed down and fell back asleep."

"After a couple of minutes he looked at me with a sad smile and said that Sharpay sometimes just has bad nightmares that something happens to him. It's her worst fear that gets to her at times when she is asleep. He told me that when she has one, she'll wake up through out the night thinking the dream was true and run to his room to check on him. Apparently she ends up just sleeping with him after the first time she wakes up anymore and I remember him saying that it looked like it was gonna be another one of those nights." Kelsi went on.

"We decided that it would just be best to call it a night so he could get Sharpay home and to bed and that I would come over to their house the next day to finish working on the songs. So I got my papers and purse, Sharpay's purse, and Ryan's keys and carried it out to their car while Ryan carried Sharpay. It was so cute watching him putting her in the car, putting her seatbelt on, and then covering her with a blanket he pulled from the backseat. He got their stuff from me and told me he would see me the next day as we got in our cars. After waiting to make sure my car cranked and was moving, he pulled out. I think that's the night that I really fell for him." Kelsi finished as she stared off dreamily.

"You never told us about that." Taylor said quietly as she smiled.

"I didn't really feel like it was my place." Kelsi responded. "It was a private moment between the two of them that I really shouldn't of seen."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gabriella sighed.

"Don't worry Gabs, we'll find a way to work this out." Taylor reassured wrapping an arm around Gabriella's shoulders. "Remember Ryan seems to at least be talking to Kelsi, Zeke, and me."

"Yeah, you're right." Gabriella relented.

Suddenly the bell rang. "Come on guys, we had better go. Getting detention for being late won't help us at all." Taylor told them.

"Don't worry Gabi. Remember? We're all in this together." Kelsi smiled and the girls headed off to their next class.

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**AN: **I didn't put Ryan and Sharpay in this chapter because I didn't want for the girls conversation to take away from Ryan and Sharpays. But I did add Ryan and Sharpay a little if you count Kelsi's memory! Please review now that yall have read and let me know what you think of this chapter and story in general! Katie 


	12. Theater Conversation

**AN: **Hey yall! Sorry it took me a little longer on this one! I hit a wall in the middle of it! And when that happens, it totally sucks! Anyways, here is the Ryan/Sharpay conversation! Hope you guys enjoy it!

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**Theater Conversation**

Ryan paced back and forth in front of the theater doors. He both knew and felt his sister was in there. They both had a habit of going to the theater when they were upset. He was trying to calm himself down before going in because he needed to be calm to handle Sharpay. Finally, he opened the door and walked in. His eyes immediately zeroed in on his sister. She was sitting. legs crossed, on the stage. One hand was in her lap and the other was at her face wiping the tears from her eyes. She kept staring at her lap as Ryan walked up and hopped onto the stage, sitting beside her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and when she met his eyes fresh tears began to flow, so Ryan pulled his twin against his chest.

"Why did they do that Ry?" Sharpay asked quietly.

"I don't know Shar. Just mean I guess." Ryan answered softly. He had been trying to figure that one out, but them just being cruel was all he could come up with.

"Just makes me rethink trusting anyone again." Sharpay said.

"Excuse me???" Ryan asked playfully, raising an eyebrow at her. Sharpay's giggle made Ryan's heart swell.

"Ry, I mean anyone besides you, you dufus." Sharpay responded, grinning at her big brother.

"Just wanted to make sure." Ryan said, grinning back at her. He watched her smile slip as she was thinking. She pulled back, not meeting his eyes, to which he winced, knowing she was about to say something that he wouldn't like.

Umm, Ry, you don't have to be here you know. Chad was right when he said that the reason you don't have lots of friends is me..."

"Sharpay Elizabeth Evans, stop right there." Ryan interrupted. He wasn't about to let her start on a self deprecating tangent based on Chad's limited knowledge of them and their relationship. "Shar, you're right. I don't have a lot of friends, but you know what? I don't want to have any friends who can't accept all of me. And you're a part of me Shar. My other half." He said looking deep into her eyes to make sure she got it. When she broke his gaze, looking down, he continued on, knowing she needed to hear more. "Remember that deal we made? We both agreed that we didn't have to hang out with people who made fun of either one of us. Chad, Gabriella, and Troy hurt you today Shar. But what they did to you hurt me too. Shar, you're my best friend, not to mention my twin and, like I told you before, my other half. I don't need them Sharpay. I was fine before I became friends with them."

"Ryan..." Sharpay interrupted. "But don't you want other friends?"

"That would be nice, but I want them to be real friends. Real friends would never go after like you like that. As long as I have you Shar, I'll always be ok." Ryan smiled as his twin looked into his eyes.

"I feel the same way Ry." Sharpay responded, leaning back into her brother. "But I am sorry if this whole thing hurt you."

"Well, I've never been able to lie to you, so I'm not gonna try to start now." Ryan told her grinning, before a somber look came over his face. "Knowing that it was people that I thought of as friends who did that to you hurt. But not just because it showed me that they weren't really my friends." Seeing confusion on Sharpay's face, he explained. "If they were really my friends, they would of cared enough about me to not go after you. But I think the part that hurts the most is..." Ryan paused, looking away from his twin. "is that I'm the reason they were able to get close enough to you to do it. And I didn't even see it coming." Ryan added quietly.

Sharpay looked at Ryan, the guilt seeming to pour off him in waves. She smiled and shook her head at her wonderful, caring, sweet, stupid big brother. He was always trying to take responsibility for anything bad that happened to her. When was he gonna learn that he couldn't protect her from everything??? But even as she wondered it, she knew that her protective big brother ever learning that was unlikely.

"So you were in on it?" Sharpay asked. She continued on even as Ryan's head snapped back toward her, confusion showing all over his face. "You planned it out with them?

"What? No!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Then they told you about it right? You knew what was gonna happen?" Sharpay asked him.

"No! Of course not!" Ryan told her, obviously confused.

Sharpay then allowed her face to soften. "Ry, then there is no reason to blame yourself. You couldn't of seen this coming. There's no way! Chad was your friend, and he's never gone after me that bad before, so you had no reason to think he would do it now. And Troy and Gabriella have never been that mean to me. Gabriella has never really been mean to me before, and Troy hasn't been for a while. There is no way you could of known Ry, so cut yourself a break."

"It's hard Shar. You're my baby sister. I know it isn't by much, but it doesn't change anything. I want to protect you from everything. I hate seeing you hurt, especially when I feel I could of prevented it." Ryan admitted.

"But Ry, no matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to protect me from everything. I know you always do your best to keep me from being hurt Ryan. I love that. It makes me feel safe. But you can't know everything or be everywhere all the time. As hard as you try, I'm still gonna get hurt at times. Just like I try to keep you from being hurt, but it doesn't mean you'll never be hurt. But see I know that whenever somebody does something or says something to me, that you'll always do exactly what you're doing now. You'll always be here for me and help me get through it."

"Always." Ryan replied, pulling Sharpay close to him. "So, are you ok now?"

"Yeah. I mean, it still hurts to think about, but the only person I've ever really needed is you Ry. As long as I have you I'll always be ok." She answered smiling at Ryan.

"I feel the same way Shar." Ryan told her.

"I know, you already said it!" Sharpay reminded him giggling.

"I just wanted to make sure it got through that thick skull of yours." Ryan teased her as he pulled her against his chest.

Sharpay always felt so loved and safe in her brother's arms, so she hated to pull away. "I love you so much big bro."

"I love you too little sis." Ryan told her smiling, just as the bell rang for them to go to class.

"Ugh." Sharpay groaned. "I wish we didn't have class with the brat pack right now."

"I know, I feel the same way." Ryan agreed.

"Ry, you don't happen to have another hat in your locker that will match my out fit do you? I'm a mess." Sharpay asked.

"Here." Ryan answered, taking off his blue beret and placing it on her head.

"But now you don't have one." Sharpay objected, reaching to pull the hat off.

"Hey, I have a blue fedora in my locker I can grab. But the beret looks much better on you then the fedora will. Plus, I doubt the fedora will match the blue in your top as close as the beret does. Either works with what I'm wearing." Ryan explained.

Sharpay gave him a big grin. "I love having a brother with a fashion sense."

They exited the theater to head to their next class. "So how are we gonna handle them Ryan?" Sharpay asked in reference to the Wild Cats.

"Well, we only have this class left with them today. Last period we have free period, so we can just tell Mrs. Darbus we need to get home to practice for our audition and she'll let us leave. So I say we ignore them the rest of today. I mean, I think talking to Zeke, Kelsi, and Taylor is ok, as long as they don't bring up the others. I really don't think they were in on that whole thing. I have an idea I want to talk to you about when we get home though." Ryan replied as they reached their lockers. He opened his locker and retrieved his blue fedora and looked in the mirror to fix it on his head.

Once he was finished, Sharpay took his place, fixing Ryan's beret on her head and pulling it down to help cover the puffiness that all the crying had caused. She seemed to take a minute, prepping herself to, once again, don her Ice Queen mask. It saddened her to see that, behind her, Ryan was readying his own icy mask for the first time.

"That must be his plan he wanted to talk to me about." Sharpay thought. "For us both to become icy. That way no one can hurt us again." She smiled as Ryan nodded to her, seeming to understand what she was thinking and letting her know she was right about his being his plan.

They shut their lockers at the same time and turned in the direction of their next class. As they stalked down the hall way towards their class in perfect sync, they looked at each other and smirked.

In a twin telepathy moment both were thinking the same thing. "Look out East High. Here come the Ice Twins."

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**AN: **So did you guys like it??? I'm really anxious to find out what you readers think! Please review now that you've read! They really do help me a lot! Thanks for reading! Katie 


	13. Ice Twins?

AN: Hey yall! I'm so sorry its taken me so long to update! School has been sooooo hectic between papers and exams. Some how I don't think my parents would be too pleased to hear "sorry, I failed my history course because I was too busy writing fan fiction to study." Yep, that would sooooo not be good. So I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: Once again, totally don't get the whole purpose of these things. If I owned anything HSM related I would be too busy writing the HSM3 script to write these. Oh well! Nope, don't own a thing.

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Ice Twins?

As Ryan and Sharpay entered the classroom, the room went silent. The temperature seemed to drop and everyone stared at them. The Wild Cats were among those who couldn't take their eyes off the twins.

Gabriella felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she carefully studied Sharpay's face. Most of it was covered by Ryan's beret, but what Gabriella could see of her cheeks and eyes was red and swollen, a testament to the fact that she had been crying. While Gabriella, Taylor, and Kelsi's attention was drawn to Sharpay, Troy, Chad, and Zeke's was diverted to Ryan. There was definitely something different about him. His demeanor, the way he carried himself, even down to his facial expressions and his walk were all decidedly cooler.

Chad felt worse than ever as his eyes met Ryan's and Ryan glared coldly at him before turning away. He, then, allowed himself to take in Sharpay's appearance. He smiled a little because if you weren't looking for it, she seemed completely normal. While she was being her normal icy self, if you looked hard enough, you could see that her eyes were red and puffy under Ryan's hat.

Troy was confused and upset at the cold, icy look plastered on Ryan's face. He knew he had seen that look before but he couldn't figure out where until he looked at Sharpay, who had an identical look on her face. He groaned quietly wondering how much more difficult this new development would make things.

The Evans twins looked at each other as they stalked over to Sharpay's normal seat. They glared at the boy who was sitting in the seat next to her and simultaneously yelled "Evaporate!" The poor boy then bolted from the seat to a vacant one in the back of the room.

"Mission Accomplished." The twins thought as they smirked at each other, and took their seats. Instead of taking his normal seat behind his sister, Ryan took the now empty seat next to Sharpay. This seemed to confuse the boys watching him enough in itself. Taylor and Gabriella seemed to of figured out what was going on, but before they could let the others in on it Troy's dad, Coach Bolton, entered the room

"Hey guys, Mr. Kroft had a family emergency so he won't be here today. You can do whatever you want as long as you keep the nose down. And no, Mr. and Miss Evans, that does not include going home."

Ryan and Sharpay, who had raised their hands to ask that exact question, just shrugged to each other as Ryan leaned down pulling two song sheets out of his bag, and handing one to Sharpay. With that, Coach Bolton turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Once the door shut, all the students began chatting amongst themselves. Zeke walked over and took a seat in the empty desk next to Troy and Chad, while Kelsi walked over to Ryan and Sharpay, who had called her over. Gabriella and Taylor did their best to listen in on the conversation, but due to all the other students chatter, they couldn't hear anything.

"Kelse, are you available to rehearse our audition number after school tomorrow or during free period?" Sharpay asked.

Kelsi seemed surprised that Sharpay was talking to her, but quickly recovered. "Yeah, either one. Or even both if you guys want."

The twins glanced at each other before turning back to the pianist and answering together. "Both."

"Great!" Kelsi answered.

"How about if we practice in the theater during free period and at our house after school?" Ryan suggested.

"Sounds good." Kelsi replied, smiling shyly before a look of confusion took over. "Can I ask you two something?"

"Sure. Go ahead." Sharpay responded.

"You guys obviously aren't talking to the rest of my friends after……well, because of today." Kelsi began as Sharpay looked down. She smiled as Ryan slid one foot over against Sharpay's and Sharpay grinned at him. "So why are you talking to me?" Kelsi finished.

Sharpay looked at her and began speaking. "Kelsi, you've been around us for years. I think if you wanted to really hurt me or us……" She paused, glancing at Ryan. "you would of done it a while ago. I just don't think……we just don't think you were in on it." Sharpay finished.

"I'm glad you know I wouldn't do that to you." Kelsi answered with a slight smile. She started to tell the twins that Troy and Gabriella weren't in on it either, but she didn't want them to feel as though she was ambushing them, since the other Wild Cats were still in the same room. She made a mental note to address it to them later when she got the opportunity.

Kelsi turned to go back to her seat when Sharpay called her name again. "Yeah?" Kelsi responded, not noticing Ryan's glare he had zeroed in on his sister, who ignored her brother, and the fact that his face was rapidly blushing red.

"You know, our parents are out of town, so we're planning on ordering in Chinese food tomorrow night. And we always end up ordering way too much food and it always ends up staying in the fridge for weeks. So why don't you stay and help us eat it once we are done practicing? We could watch a movie too." Sharpay suggested, grinning at the slight blush accompanying the big smile on Kelsi's face.

"Sounds like fun!" Kelsi replied, giving Sharpay a big smile turning to leave again. This time, however, Ryan stopped her.

A smirk had come over his face as he ignored the glare and blush that adorned his twin sister's face, who seemed to know what he was doing. "Why don't you invite Zeke to come too once he is done with basketball practice?" Ryan's question telling Kelsi that they obviously didn't believe Zeke was in on anything either. "He likes to watch Shar…." He cut off as Sharpay kicked him. "I mean, he likes to watch **US**rehearse." Ryan amended and continued. "So he could watch the last part of our rehearsal and then stay and eat with us and watch the movie too."

Kelsi grinned but pretended not to notice Sharpay's blushing face. "Yeah, I'll ask him, but I'm sure he'll want to."

"Ok then, can't wait!" Ryan told her smiling shyly.

"Me either!" Kelsi returned his smile as she turned and walked over to drop into the desk beside Zeke. The conversation the Wild Cats were having stopped at Kelsi's arrival. Kelsi, however, didn't seem to notice and couldn't remove the smile from her face.

"What was that about Kelsi?" Chad asked, seeming confused at how easily the conversation had gone between the Evans twins and the pianist.

"Just setting up rehearsal times for their audition number." Kelsi told Chad before turning to Zeke. "This might be a stupid question, but I'm asking anyways." Kelsi began, not able to wipe the excited smile from her face. "Tomorrow, I'm going over to Ryan and Sharpay's to practice with them. They wanted me to ask you if you wanted to come over after basketball practice. You could catch the end of the rehearsal and stay to eat Chinese and watch a movie."

"Really?" Zeke asked, a big grin forming.

"Yep." Kelsi replied.

Zeke looked toward the twins and happened to catch Sharpay's eye. He grinned at her and nodded. Sharpay's icy face broke into a smile before she caught herself and went back to going over the song sheet with Ryan.

Troy looked confused. "So what's going on? Are they icy now or not?"

"I think Sharpay is being how she always has been. She's only icy to those she doesn't trust, which is most people. Or she'll be icy to those she does trust if it's in front of those she doesn't. She hasn't been icy to me for a while now." Kelsi answered honestly.

"Same here. Just seems like Ryan has adopted that philosophy now too." Zeke added.

"So they will be nice to you two but mean to everyone else?" Chad asked.

"Well, they probably won't be mean to Taylor either, but because you and her are dating, I don't think they trust her totally. Especially since she and Sharpay never have gotten along." Gabriella answered with a sad smile.

Kelsi gave the group a big smile. "Doesn't hurt that Sharpay likes Zeke though."

The group laughed as Zeke looked embarrassed but raised an eyebrow at Kelsi. "Doesn't hurt that Ryan likes you either." Zeke grinned at Kelsi who just blushed. Finally the bell rang and everyone began getting their things together and leaving the room

Ryan and Sharpay shoved by Troy and Gabriella, bumping against them in the process. "Gross Sharpay! Now we're gonna have to shower again to wash off the mediocrity." Ryan exclaimed, glaring at the two of them.

"I'm more concerned about catching the "prick/witch" disease that they are obviously infected with!" Sharpay responded to her brother looking disgusted. With that, the twins walked out the door as they spotted Mrs. Darbus. The Wild Cats walked out in time to catch their conversation.

"Mrs. Darbus, we feel that it would be in our best interest….." Ryan began

"and that of the upcoming Musicale if you would be gracious enough to allow us to leave and……" Sharpay continued.

"practice at home." They both finished together.

"My wonderful stars! Always thinking of the show!" Mrs. Darbus exclaimed. The twins smiled at her as she added, "of course you may do what you need to perfect your performance!" Ryan and Sharpay thanked her and began to head to their lockers. They smirked at the Wild Cats as they passed them.

"Well," Troy began, a blank look on his face, "this may be tougher than we thought."

"Gee, ya think???" Chad sarcastically asked as the group headed off toward their final class of the day.

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AN: I know Ryan might seem a little OOC but he is putting on a front now too. So he has to be different. I really hope yall liked it! Please review and let me know! Constructive criticism is always welcome, although flames will be used for the sole purpose of making smores. Thanks for reading! Katie 


	14. Ice Twins Defrost

**AN: **Hey guys! Remember me?? (ducks down to avoid flying objects) I'm so sorry for the long long long wait that I promised myself I would never to to those who were nice enough to read my story. But two surgeries and helping my best friend plan her wedding(to my cousin no less!) and well, its been a while! So, needless to say that I'm hoping you guys like this and it redeems me some what. Not a whole lot going on. Just some Rypay(bro/sis) fluff. Hope yall like it!

**Disclaimer:** Nope, still don't own anything. Otherwise there would be some serious Rypay(bro/sis) fluff in HSM3!

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Ice Twins Defrost

Ryan and Sharpay held their rigid postures as they stalked across the parking lot and got into Sharpay's pink convertible. Once they pulled out of the parking lot and the school disappeared from sight they let their guards down with simultaneous sighs of relief. They smiled tiredly at each other but were otherwise silent on the short drive back to the their home, which many would consider a mansion, each lost in their own thoughts.

Sharpay pulled into the garage and parked her car next to Ryan's, which was a black version of her car. They had been presents from their parents for their 16th birthday. "So," Sharpay began, giving her brother a grin, "since we're now the East High Ice Twins, you want us to take your car tomorrow? I know you aren't overly fond of being driven around in a pink car." Sharpay added with a giggle.

"Sure!" Ryan said returning her grin. "Might be interesting to see the brat pack's reaction when we show up in my car instead of yours." He said grinning at the thought of their reaction. "At least it will be another sign to them that we're on equal ground now."

"Oh my gosh, I can't wait to see their faces the first time you take control!" Sharpay added throwing her head back laughing. "They aren't gonna have a clue how to react!"

"All the better. At least then if any of them decide to talk about us, it will be the both of us instead of just you. Then I might actually make it through the day without wanting to punch someones lights out." Ryan responded grinning.

"Yeah, now it will be me wanting to punch someone!" Sharpay giggled. "And you _know _how good my restraint skills are so this is going to be just _fabulous_!" Sharpay added sarcastically causing Ryan to burst out laughing. Even though she tried to hold her serious face, Ryan's laughter got to her and soon she was laughing along with her brother.

"Well, lets get inside." Sharpay said when they had finally calmed down. "It's a little warm out here, and besides, I can't wait to get out of these heels!" Sharpay told her brother giving an exaggerated pained look while showing him her four inch heels as she rounded the car. "Today has not been the day for uncomfortable shoes!"

"I still don't get why you buy those shoes if they hurt your feet so bad." Ryan said as they entered the house. "Why buy shoes that hurt your feet that bad?"

"Well, I wouldn't be very stylish wearing crocs all the time now would I?" Sharpay bantered back as they climbed the stairs towards heading to their bedrooms to change. She loved these times with her brother, when it was just the two of them with no acts or pretenses. He was the only one she could truly be herself with. She knew he would always love her no matter what and that brought her a great sense of comfort. Especially when days end like today had.

"No, maybe not. But hey, maybe it would keep you in a better mood so you can concentrate more on fixing your hair, cause it needs some serious help sis." Ryan said making a face as he flipped her hair looking at the clips that now hung crooked in her hair as he swiped his hat back.

"Hey! It's your hats fault!" Sharpay said pretending to be angry. "Look what it did to my beautiful hair!"

"Yeah! I know! Who knew a hat could make that much of an improvement over your usual hair style!" Ryan teased dodging as she playfully swung at him. He hurried backwards laughing until he entered his room closing the door in a hurry, locking it before running to the bathroom door and locking it as well since it joined their two rooms. He doubled over laughing, eventually sliding down and leaning against the bathroom door as he heard Sharpay banging on it yelling at him even though the giggles in her voice diminished the angry effect she was going for. Eventually she was laughing too hard to keep up the charade and he heard her heels clicking as she went to change.

He loved his sister like this. When she felt comfortable enough to just be herself. Not the Ice Queen, or perfect Daddy's little girl, or whoever anyone else expected her to be. Nope, at home, when it was just the two of them, she was simply Sharpay Elizabeth Evans. His sweet caring twin sister and the best friend he had ever had. And also the only person he truly needed. Not like their parents were around much. And friends?? Obviously having any friends other than Sharpay, Kelsi, and Zeke(who was on trial basis purely for Sharpay, and God help him if he hurt her!) was a huge mistake. And really, at the end of the day, he just needed Sharpay. As much as he tried to ignore it, what happened with the Wild Cats had hurt him more than he wanted to admit to Sharpay, or to himself for that matter.

He had been trying so hard to take care of Sharpay that he kept pushing down how he was feeling. Knowing people that he considered his friends had been able to pull off such a malicious attack on his sister without so much of a hint of remorse or without him catching on made him sick. Sure, they looked upset after he reamed them out in the cafeteria, but hey, they apparently were way better actors than he ever gave them credit for. As much as he had been starting to like Gabriella and Troy, he never for a second, thought they were great actors. Sure they were good, but never great. But if they were capable of the act they had been putting on being nice to Shar, then they were far better actors than he had thought. Yep, he and Sharpay would just have to work double time on their next audition to make sure they blew them out of the water.

Of course Gabi-Gabriella he mentally reminded himself, had said they weren't auditioning this year, but obviously he now knew exactly how much her word meant. About as much as Chad's apology did. He had fallen for their lies once, but that would never happen again. He had to protect his sister. And if the Wild Cats thought Sharpay had been horrible as the Ice Queen, they hadn't seen anything yet. He wouldn't mess up again. He was going to protect Sharpay. No matter what he had to do, he would never let her be hurt like this again. No one else but Kelsi, and possibly Zeke, could be trusted with his twin's heart. No, now he was East High's Ice King, and whoever even attempted to get close to Sharpay, other than Kelsi or Zeke, would answer to him.

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**AN: **Hey again! Well, I hope you guys liked the update! Once again sorry for making it so long since the last one! Promise it won't be that long again! Please just R&R and let me know what you think or if you have ideas! And that you guys don't hate me and haven't forgotten this story! I'm always up for new ideas! Thanks guys! And a special thanks to Angel of the Starz for the much needed prodding! Katie


	15. Ice Twins Defrost Part 2

**AN:** Hey guys! See! Not near as long of a wait this time! No one but the twins in this chapter too. I kind of felt they needed another chapter of fluff together before they're thrown back into East High with the Wild Cats. Please don't forget to review! Those really mean a lot! Even a short one helps! Hope yall enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Nope, still own nothing unless you count my HSM and HSM2 DVDs and soundtracks.

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**Ice Twins Defrost Part 2**

Sharpay was lying down on her bed holding her stomach. She really needed that laugh after the way today had gone, and of course, her brother came through for her like he always did. When she finally had calmed down enough that her stomach didn't hurt so much she walked over to her dresser to pull out clothes to wear. Since it was just going to be her and Ryan at home, there wasn't any need for anything fancy. She pulled our a red t-shirt, before thinking a moment and putting it back. Ryan tended to wear red since he had gotten close with the Wild Cats. Even after the fight they had today, she figured he would still pull out a red shirt to wear without thinking. Despite popular belief, they never intended to match.

She felt bad for Ryan. She knew that everything that had happened hurt him worse than he wanted her to think, and since he obviously was trying to hide the degree of hurt he felt, she respected his choice and chose to ignore it. It just made her mad that Ryan got pulled into everything and, once again, was hurt because of something to do with her. Maybe if she had kept up her icy persona instead of allowing herself to hope that Gabriella and Troy wanted to be her friends, then Ryan wouldn't of been hurt. She never would have sat down with them at lunch, so none of that chaos would have happened and Ryan would still have his friends. Even she could see how irrational she was being, but she couldn't help but feeling like it was once again her fault that Ryan didn't have friends.

Ryan...gosh, she felt like everything was back to where it had been during freshman year. Just now, Ryan was in the middle of the Icy mess with her. He wasn't oblivious like he had been then. And she knew he felt responsible. That thought made Sharpay groan out loud. _When is he going to realize he can't protect me all the time and can't protect me from everything??_ She knew though that day would never come. It hurt her worse thinking about what Ryan was going through and what he lost because of all this than how it effected her. _I mean, really, what changes for me? I still have Ryan as my only friend, with a possibility of Zeke and Kelsi (although if she hurt Ryan, she would answer to the Ice Queen herself!). I didn't really lose anything today. Ryan is the one who lost a lot today,_ Sharpay reminded herself as she pushed the pain she felt down. He was the real victim, so she would pull herself together and act normal and happy for him. So no more thinking Evans! That will only make you feel worse! She strongly reprimanded herself. Bottom line was those Wild Cats would pay for hurting Ryan like they did today.

Mentally shaking herself, she pulled out a random blue shirt not paying attention to the writing on it as she pulled it on. Then she pulled out some comfortable black cheer-leading shorts and, after kicking off the evil black heels, pulled them on as well. After removing the hair clips, which she had to admit looked pretty bad at this point, she pulled her hair back into a messy bun on top of her head before walking through the bathroom and turning the door knob to Ryan's room to see if it still was locked. She smiled to herself when she found it wasn't and wandered in. She heard Ryan in his closet so she just plopped herself down on his bed waiting for him to come out.

When he finally emerged, his mouth immediately turned up into a smile as he looked at her. "What?" She asked him looking suspiciously at him.

"Love the outfit Sis." Ryan replied smirking.

That was when she looked down at what she was wearing. "Ugh!!" She groaned giggling at the same time as she realized what Ryan was finding so funny. She was wearing an old baseball jersey she had talked her parents and Ryan's baseball coach into allowing her to get so she could wear it to the games to support Ryan. It was identical to the one he had worn his last year he played ball when he was fourteen, except smaller. It made her giggle harder thinking that by trying not to match Ryan, she had ended up matching him perfectly. He was wearing his old baseball jersey as well along with a pair of plain black shorts. "Oh well, I tried!" Sharpay said laughing.

"I was trying not to match too." Ryan told her with a grin. "I guess we should know by now not to even try to avoid matching. It just makes us end up matching even more!" Ryan added flopping down on his bed next to his sister.

"You would think we would of learned that lesson by now." Sharpay responded looking at Ryan.

"Well, unless it has to do with learning lines, we've always been slow learners." Ryan answered. "So, what do you say to continuing our movie marathon? We've got enough pizza in the fridge to last us tonight, or we could order Chinese if you want." He added propping himself up on his elbows looking down at his twin.

"Nah, I'm not picky. Pizza sounds good to me. On one condition..." Sharpay told him grinning.

"I'm a little afraid to ask, but what's the condition?" Ryan asked giving her a suspicious glance. "We make some of our famous Evans twins chocolate chip cookies!" Sharpay answered popping up onto her knees.

"So, I take it someone isn't too worried about her calories tonight." Ryan smirked at her.

"What? You think I need to be?" Sharpay said pretending to be offended.

"Nope, we just might have to get a fork lift to carry you around the stage instead of me." He responded doing everything he could to hide his grin.

"Hey, I skipped lunch today remember? I think I'm entitled to some extra calories." Sharpay laughed.

"I was just kidding anyways, besides, I was actually thinking the same thing." Ryan finally admitted giving into his grin. "I think we could both do with some extra sugar tonight. Not to mention you're already a little on the thin side. Would probably do our routine some good if it doesn't look like I'm dancing with a skeleton."

"Hey!!" Sharpay pretending to be insulted as she swatted her brother on the shoulder.

"So, cookies?" Ryan asked giving her a conspiratorial grin.

"Yay!" Sharpay squealed as she pounced on her brother hugging him.

Ryan quickly rolled over and picked Sharpay up in the process swinging her around so she was riding on his back. "So what movies do you want to watch tonight?"

"Hmm..." Sharpay began as she tightened her grip around her brothers neck. "definitely Peter Pan the musical. Cathy Rigby was so good in that."

"We have to figure out what movie we want to watch with Kelsi and Zeke tomorrow too. We're not gonna watch the same movie tomorrow that we watch tonight." Ryan added.

"Well, I want to watch that advance DVD copy of Hairspray that Dad got us one of those times. Even the previews make it look like John Travolta took acting to a whole different level." Sharpay told him excitedly as they descended the stairs.

"Seriously, can you imagine that your first movie you do in Hollywood, your co-stars are John Travolta, Christopher Walkin, Queen Latifa and Michelle Pfeiffer?" Ryan asked her incredulously.

"Oh I know! Nikki Blonsky has got to be the luckiest actress on the planet!" Sharpay squealed, before lowering her voice realizing she was right at her brother's ear. After deciding on watching Hairspray and Peter Pan they fixed their cookies and settled in on the couch to watch the movies. They decided on watching Hairspray first since they hadn't seen it before. They laughed and cut up the whole way through, both being blown away by John Travolta's performance as well as Nikki Blonsky.

"Oh wow! Everyone was right! He totally disappeared into the role!" Sharpay squealed.

"Sign of a great actor to make you forget who is actually playing the part because you get so caught up in the story." Ryan agreed.

"I just wish the actor had been better who played Link. I think his name is Zac something." Sharpay remarked thinking.

"Yeah, why is it that the leading men are always dark haired or blond hulk wannabes." Ryan questioned looking confused.

"Same reason the pretty blondes are always evil?" Sharpay answered.

"Hey, what was that movie we watched the other night? Snap Shot or something? The heroine in that movie was blond. Wasn't she played by that Disney girl? Ashley Tisdale? Great voice if I remember right." Ryan reminded her.

"You mean picture this? Yeah, I guess, but that one cancels itself out because the evil girl was blond too. Anyways, back to Hairspray, I mean, Zac is good and all, but I think someone else like that guy off of Alice Upside down would of been better. He seems to be better vocally anyways."

"Yeah, maybe. But I think they were looking for the whole package instead of just a good singer Sis. But I do agree with you that the movie was great and John Travolta was phenomenal." Ryan responded.

They took a break to go get their cookies and finish their conversation on Hairspray before they started Peter Pan. "Oh my gosh Ry!" Sharpay groaned. "Why did you let me eat so much?? I feel sick!" Sharpay complained as she stretched out on the couch.

"Ugh, me too Shar. I think we both over did it!" Ryan agreed as he plopped down beside Sharpay and stretching out as well.

Sharpay shifted around so she was lying with her head on Ryan's chest before reaching out and hitting play on the remote starting Peter Pan. One minute Sharpay was watching Peter Pan save Tiger Lilly and the next she was waking up with the room completely dark and the TV screen was blue. She moved to look up at Ryan and saw he was asleep too. She smiled seeing he had fallen asleep with her tightly wrapped in his arms. _"Well I guess we need to get to bed."_ Sharpay thought seeing it was after midnight.

Gently she shook Ryan awake. Knowing he still wasn't completely awake, she gently guided him up the stairs and into their bathroom where she got him to brush his teeth, then walked him into his bedroom and got him under the covers. Smiling at him, she kissed his forehead softly, whispered sweet dreams to him, and quietly shut his door before brushing her own teeth and crawling into her own bed.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

Ryan bolted awake sitting up straight in his bed. He vaguely remembered Shar walking him up and getting him into bed. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what had woken him up. He always woke up every time it happened. He quickly got up, opened his door, and walked into Sharpay's room to see her huddled on her bed tears streaming down her face. He looked at her sadly before bending down, picking her up carrying her back to his room and pulling the covers over both of them as he rocked her. "What happened this time Shar?" He asked quietly still rubbing her back after she had calmed down some.

"They were all calling me it." She hoarsely got out. "They were all screaming at me and calling me all kinds of names but mainly the Ice Queen. You were beside me and they started making fun of you too. Then they pulled you away from me and got you to join in." Sharpay choked out as tears slid down her face.

"Oh Shar." Ryan sighed. "You know I would never do that to you. And I would never let any of them corner you like that." Ryan told her kissing her forehead as he held her.

"I know Ry," Sharpay told him as she pulled back wiping her eyes. "doesn't make dreaming about it any easier though."

"I know Shar. Just always remember that I'm always gonna be by your side ok?" Ryan reminded her.

"Yeah, I know Ry. Thanks." She said leaning in smiling at and kissing her brother on the cheek. "I guess I'll head back to bed now." Sharpay said sighing and getting up. But before she could get totally off the bed Ryan grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down so they were both lying down with Sharpay's head on his chest.

"You know good and well if you go back to your bed now, we'll both be awake again in an hour." Ryan told her holding her tight. "You're staying here tonight Sis."

"Whatever you say bro." Sharpay answered tiredly grinning into Ryan's chest. This was the same game they played every time she had a nightmare. It let her keep more of her dignity and allowed Ryan to play protective big brother. She drifted off to sleep listening to her brother's heart beat, smiling at the feeling of safety she always felt in his arms.

Ryan however was more awake. He felt horrible for his sister and knew this was more than likely how things were going to go for at least a week, until he could convince her to just start out sleeping with him. It didn't stop the nightmares, but he was there to wake her before they got too severe. It would go like that until she finally made it through the night without having a nightmare, which took a month last time. He finally just forced his brain to shut off, because as far as he was concerned, the Ice King would need to be on the top of his game the next day in order to protect his best friend and twin from the evil brat pack. He smirked to himself thinking of how much that sounded like a cheesy comic book before he too finally drifted off to sleep, Sharpay wrapped up tightly in his arms.

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**AN:** Hey! So what did yall think?? Don't forget to review and let me know! Any ideas would be great as well! I'm always open! I hope to have the next chapter up in a week or so. I'm gonna be out of town which is whats causing the delay, but it will get up as soon as I can get it up! Please don't forget to review! Remember! ReviewsInspiration! Katie


	16. Preparing for an Icy Day

**AN:** (Ducks flying objects) Hey yall! Sorry its taken me so long...again. Hospitals suck for the record. Anyways, here is the next chapter! More Rypay(bro/sis) fluff cause I wanted to give them another chapter together before braving East High again!

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I don't own a thing.

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**Preparing for an Icy Day**

Ryan groaned the next morning feeling the sun on his face and hearing his alarm blaring. Immediately sensing his sister's presence in his bed before he actually felt the weight of her head and arm on his chest, he carefully reached over to turn the alarm off not wanting to jar her too bad. Sharpay would be in an even worse mood if she woke up to what she called "the incessant annoying torture device",other wise known as an alarm clock. Ryan had always woken her up. He stroked her hair with one hand while gently shaking her shoulder with the other.

"Shar, come on Sis, time to wake up." He said softly, smiling as he saw Sharpay's eyes flutter open.

"I'm awake, I'm awake." She mumbled looking up at Ryan sleepily but making no effort to move.

"I've gotta get ready for school now Shar, and I can't do with with you lying on me." He told her grinning.

"Oh why not? And here I thought you could multi-task!" She teased lightly as she rolled off of him. "You know, be my pillow and get dressed at the same time."

"Sorry to disappoint Sis." He said chuckling as he stood up. "I'll use mom and dad's shower. You've got a lot more hair stuff than I have." He said as he grabbed his hair gel out of their bathroom.

"Ok." He heard his Sharpay mumble her head buried in one of his pillows. Sighing he dropped his gel onto the bed as he walked over and sat back down on the bed. "I didn't want it to have to come to this but you leave me no choice." Ryan said looking at Sharpay trying to hide his smile as he began tickling his sister.

"Ryyyaaannn!" Sharpay squealed as she squirmed and rolled away from her brother to escape the attacking fingers.

Ryan laughed and scooted as his sister rolled to be able to keep tickling her. Finally Sharpay jumped off the bed trying to escape her brother. She glared at her brother who just looked at her amused from where he was still kneeling on his bed. "So, are you awake now?" He asked innocently.

Even as she fought it, she ended up smiling back at her brother. "I guess." She sighed.

"Good, cause if we don't get a move on we're gonna have to skip Star Bucks..." Ryan trailed off laughing as Sharpay was in the bathroom with the shower running before he could even finish the sentence. He was still laughing as he grabbed a towel out of the closet in his parents bathroom and got into the shower himself.

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Twenty minutes later Ryan was standing in his closet trying to decide on what he should wear for the day. Pink was definitely out. As much as he liked his pink clothes, today was definitely not the day for them. He had worn blue the day before so he finally decided on a green collared shirt with his white pants. After he was finished getting dressed he walked into the bathroom and fix his hair before returning to his room to select his hat. He already knew which one he wanted as he pulled a box down from one of the shelves in his closet and pulled out the white hat with green stripes on the side that Sharpay had gotten him for their last birthday. He looked in the mirror as he placed the hat on his head. "Perfect." He said to himself before glancing down at his watch. _Sharpay should be close to ready by now_ Ryan thought as he crossed back into the bathroom and entered her room. He grinned seeing Sharpay's green cap sleeved collared shirt lying on her bed. It wasn't an exact match but it was a complimenting shade to his green shirt, and therefore perfect for the day ahead.

Ryan laughed as he heard banging coming from Sharpay's closet, and moved closer when he heard her yelp in pain. "Shar? You alright?" He asked, still chuckling. He winced at the death glare his sister shot him as she came limping out of her closet holding her white boots.

"I was trying to get a box down and my boots fell and hit my toes." Sharpay whined, sitting on her bed rubbing her toes. Finally she pulled the boots on grimacing before standing and straightening her white mini skirt.

"I don't care how much you ate last night, you're eating a hamburger at lunch today Shar." He told her sternly frowning as he gestured towards her slightly protruding ribs.

She looked at her stomach before crossing her arms to cover it and glaring at her brother again. "My weight is fine Ry. I'm not too skinny."

"I know. I'm just trying to keep it that way." Ryan responded grinning to which Sharpay couldn't help but smile back.

In 9th grade, after everything that happened with Troy and Chad, the twins had thrown themselves into preparing for their first high school drama audition. They were both so focused on their audition, that neither of them really paid attention to the weight Sharpay was losing due to practicing so much and her decreased appetite because of the Troy/Chad situation. At least until she passed out during one of their rehearsals. Ryan shuddered thinking of how helpless he had felt only being able to hold her hand in the ambulance and how anxious he had been in the waiting room until the doctor had come to talk to him. Sharpay had been ten pounds underweight and her body had just collapsed under the strain of all the rehearsals and not eating enough. Ever since then Ryan had made sure to pay attention to his sister's weight, particularly when she was stressed or upset to make sure that didn't happen again. He knew she didn't have an eating disorder. She just tended to get distracted and not eat or at least not eat enough to combat all their practicing.

"Since I ate all those cookies last night, how about I eat a salad?" Sharpay asked. "Ok, how about a salad and I split a hamburger with you?" She amended quickly in response to the glare she received from her brother. Though most people didn't realize it, Ryan's glares made Sharpay look like Gabriella attempting to glare at someone.

"Deal." Ryan answered rolling his eyes. "And unless you're planning on going to school like that," Ryan gestured to her upper half which was naked except for her bra, "I suggest you get your shirt on so we can go."

"Tough talk from someone who wouldn't let me out of the house like this anyways." Sharpay teased as she picked up her shirt. "Help me?" She asked giving her brother her best puppy dog face.

"Whatever gets us out of here." Ryan said sighing before smiling at Sharpay's face. After Sharpay stuck her arms through the sleeves of the shirt, he managed to help her keep the collar and front of her shirt from smudging her makeup or making her hair up. "I don't know why you can't just get dressed like a normal person." Ryan questioned as Sharpay straightened her shirt.

"Ryan you know perfectly well if I put my shirt on before fixing my hair my shirt would smell like hairspray. And if I had my shirt on when I did my makeup, I could get some on it! That means taking the time to decide on a whole new outfit. Would you prefer that?" She asked him smirking.

"And barely get to school by nine? No thanks." Ryan responded.

"Good, then don't complain." She retorted smiling.

"Fine, ready to go Sis?" Ryan asked.

"Almost. I still need that box I was trying to get when these evil boots attacked my toes." Sharpay answered glaring at her boots.

Laughing Ryan walked toward her closet. "Don't worry, I'll get it. Which box?" He asked as he entered her closet and looked at her shelves.

"Pink one on the right." He heard her call.

He stretched and managed to grab the box and brought it to her. "How did you think you were gonna reach that?" Ryan asked incredulously. "I could barely reach it."

"Wasn't thinking I guess." Sharpay answered giggling as she opened the box and pulled out the green and white beret Ryan had gotten her for their last birthday. She always felt closer to her brother when she wore it, along with the charm bracelet he had also given her then, which adorned her right wrist.

Grinning at her over her shoulder in the mirror as she fixed the beret on her head, "I guess we were thinking alike this morning." He said as he tapped his own hat. His grin widened when he saw her eyes light up as she realized he was wearing the hat she had gotten him. Her smile grew as she noticed the watch she had given him on his wrist as well.

Moving to the side slightly so she could see them both in the mirror, she smirked at how great they looked. "Fabulous." She said flashing Ryan a smile.

"Yes we are." Ryan said returning her smile. "Shall we?" He asked as he extended his arm to her.

"We shall!" Sharpay responded taking her brother's arm as they happily walked from her room down the stairs where they grabbed their book bags. Sharpay barely managed to hide her grin at her brother's poorly concealed excitement and nervousness as he grabbed his car keys from the counter. She knew better than anyone how hard the day ahead would be for her twin, so she was glad that he could find excitement anywhere, especially in something as small as being able to drive them to school in his car. He was practically skipping out to the car before they climbed in and pulled out of the drive way.

The only differences between their cars were the color(her pink verses his black) and the initials on the hood(her SE verses his RE). After a quick stop by Star Bucks for coffee, they set out for East High. As they became lost in the music from the Wicked sound track, they stayed silent, neither speaking.

Sharpay could tell about half way to school her brother's nerves really kicked in as she saw the leg he wasn't driving with constantly bouncing. She slipped her left hand over to cover Ryan's right one in hopes to calm him some, even as her own stomach knotted up. Ryan glanced at her and smiled, squeezing her hand in thanks before returning his eyes to the road.

The contact had the desired effect on both twins as their nerves quelled slightly as they pulled into the almost completely full East High parking lot. After Ryan parked his car, the twins glanced at each other before taking a deep breath and climbing out. Walking to the front of the car, they began the walk to the front doors taking comfort in being close enough so their arms brushed while ignoring all the curious glances between Ryan's car and them.

Finally they reached the front doors. They stopped and glanced at each other and Ryan quickly grabbed her hand giving it a comforting squeeze before quickly letting go. They each took a deep breath as they donned their icy masks. And then, the Ice Twins entered East High.

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**AN:** Hey yall! Hope you liked it! If you have any ideas or anything don't hesitate to let me know! I'm always open to more ideas although flames will be used to cook smores! Please please please don't forget to read and review! Thanks a lot! Katie


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